A question of Soup

[Sticks]

Members of the old BA forum will be aware of my fondness / ney obsession with lunch time soup from a chain called Bakers Oven (http://www.bakersoven.co.uk) (There do a soup of the day and have a selection of 3 possible flavours for that day - great case study for teaching probability theory) :dance:


How ever at a cheap store I got some lovely tins of other soup to have at home.

Amonst the ones I have left is some French Onion Soup.

My Question is

Is French Onion Soup a soup you have in the morning with breakfast say? I saw this idea once on a film starring Roger Moore. (He played an arms dealer)

[Donnie B.]

No, it's typically a first course with a main meal, or part of a soup-and-salad lunch.

However, you don't want to just heat and eat the soup. To make a proper French Onion, put hot soup in an oven proof bowl. Float some good French bread on top (optionally the bread can be toasted first). Then cover with a healthy layer of freshly grated Gruyere or similar cheese, and pop it under a broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve piping hot right out of the oven.

Don't forget to warn your guests... "Be careful! The bowl is hot!"

[Candy]

http://www.hannaford.com/Images/All_About_Food/Recipes/Soups_Salads/traditional_frenchonionsoup.jpg

Traditional French Onion Soup (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hannaford.com/Images/All_About_Food/Recipes/Soups_Salads/traditional_frenchonionsoup.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hannaford.com/Contents/All_About_Food/Recipes/Soups_Salads/traditional_french_onion_soup.shtml&h=249&w=240&sz=24&tbnid=2QKTD88EksIJ:&tbnh=106&tbnw=102&hl=en&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfrench%2Bonion%2Bsoup%26svnum%3D10%26 hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26c2coff%3D1) is so good.

[Frog march]

I have found that to make french toast(I think that it is called french toast) you put a piece of bread in the microwave for a few minutes until it is as dry as a bone.
Tastes as good as the stuff(what ever it's called) you buy in the shops.

edit- it is a good way of using up old bread

[Donnie B.]

Hmmm... to me, French Toast refers to bread dipped in egg batter, grilled, and served with maple syrup (the real stuff, not that fake dyed-brown gunk that comes in bottles shaped like old ladies).

I'm not sure what you're referring to, Frog, except maybe croutons.

Now I'm hungry.

[Candy]

I saw this idea once on a film starring Roger Moore. (He played an arms dealer)

Was it That Lucky Touch (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073797/)?

A European arms dealer (Roger Moore) meets a liberated woman journalist (Susannah York), who is writing a story about the ridiculous things men do with the armaments during a NATO war games meeting. Needless to say, the two meet and make sparks. A rather simple love story ensues.
Now, who wants to rent the movie, so we can find out about the French Onion Soup for breakfast? http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-068.gif

[N C More]

Hmmm... to me, French Toast refers to bread dipped in egg batter, grilled, and served with maple syrup (the real stuff, not that fake dyed-brown gunk that comes in bottles shaped like old ladies).


Don't forget the vanilla extract in the egg/milk batter...strange, now I'm hungry as well!

[Kristophe]

I have found that to make french toast(I think that it is called french toast) you put a piece of bread in the microwave for a few minutes until it is as dry as a bone.
Tastes as good as the stuff(what ever it's called) you buy in the shops.

edit- it is a good way of using up old bread

What we refer to as "French Toast" is, from what I gather, more commonly called "Lost Bread", "Golden Toast", or "pain perdu". It involves quite the opposite of drying the bread out.

[Sticks]

No, it's typically a first course with a main meal, or part of a soup-and-salad lunch.

However, you don't want to just heat and eat the soup. To make a proper French Onion, put hot soup in an oven proof bowl. Float some good French bread on top (optionally the bread can be toasted first). Then cover with a healthy layer of freshly grated Gruyere or similar cheese, and pop it under a broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve piping hot right out of the oven.

Don't forget to warn your guests... "Be careful! The bowl is hot!"

Unfortunately I do not have a suitable bowl or the cheese. Just a tin, a swiss army pen knife to open it, a pot and a stove. :boohoo:

[Kristophe]

Well, run out and by them! Butchering French onion soup should be a crime against humanity. ANd soup.

[Sticks]

Out of curiosity, when french fries were re labled Freedom Fries, did French Onion Soup get re-labled and to what ?

BTW I am not a great cheese eater, I got the in of FOS from a cheap but wonderful grocery store, so for the oficianados would turn their noses up at it anyhue. :shifty:

[ZaphodBeeblebrox]

Sticks, If you're REALLY Into, Playing it Cheap ...

Try Simply Adding Sour Cream, to French Onion Soup Mix ...

It Makes, a Very Good, Dip for Chips!

:D

[AGN Fuel]

Now, who wants to rent the movie, so we can find out about the French Onion Soup for breakfast? http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-068.gif


No matter how good the recipe, it can't be worth having to sit through a Roger Moore movie (shudder...)

(Anyone ever see "Fire, Ice & Dynamite"? With a cameo appearance by Buzz Aldrin of all people!!)

[Enzp]

Zaph, I think he has the canned variety, which would make a messy dip.

[Candy]

No matter how good the recipe, it can't be worth having to sit through a Roger Moore movie (shudder...)
This was funny! :)

Hey Sticks, when I was going to Ball State and on a limited income, I enjoyed Chicken Noodle Soup. I was looking for some crackers to add to the soup, but I couldn't find any. I did find Chicken Flavored Stuffing. I added it, and SHAZAM! It was good.

My family now makes Holiday Stuffing with Chicken Noodle Soup instead of water. Now, Stuffing is as worthy as Mashed Potatoes in my opinion. :)

I wonder what you could add to French Onion Soup to make it taste as good as a Gourmet's. Hmmmmm.

[farmerjumperdon]

That's easy. Simply make it from fresh ingredients. I've found that dishes prepared from the garden are so uncomparably good against anything but the very finest of restaurants (which BTW they achieve by using top quality fresh ingredients). There ain't nothing you can do for a canned, mass-produced, highly refined, chemically enhanced concoction like canned soup to make it even remotely gourmet.

We make a red sauce from the garden (everything but the meat of course). It is so incredibly different from the best "gourmet" sauces sold in stores now - it is not even comparable. I bet a lot of people that have only ever eaten jarred junk probably wouldn't like it because it would taste so foriegn. When the ingredients go from the Earth to the table in just a couple hours time - it's an entirely different experience. Not something that's practical or reasonable to do every meal, but it puts the strictly utilitarian nature of most modern meals in a proper perspective.

[Kristophe]

Campbell's canned onion soup has enough salt in it to be helpful in waning someone off heroin. It may not be gormet, but it's delicious.

This is, of course, comming from someone who doesn't really like onions. So, take my opinion with a tin of salt.

And Candy! Stuffing is, will be, and always has been the best part of a turkey. For shame!

[farmerjumperdon]

Agree on the stuffing - the best part of every Thanksgiving meal. We make ours with pork sausage. I am so glad it is almost that time again. We typically do a turkey for Thanksgiving, Christmas (I refuse to call it Winter Holiday), and Easter (again - I'm not a religious person; but will not call it Spring Holiday).

Do other countries (outside the USA) have factions that are doing everything possible to "cleanse" their cultural heritage and traditions.

[Candy]

Stuffing is, will be, and always has been the best part of a turkey. For shame!
Try it with the soup, I bet you'll like it. I'm hungry, and I'm spending my Holiday's alone, again, unless tmosher comes to visit and cook for me.

[Frog march]

Do other countries (outside the USA) have factions that are doing everything possible to "cleanse" their cultural heritage and traditions.

not the UK.

The UK has church and state just where they should be.
The queen is the head of state in name only and she is also the head of the church in a similar way.

church and state seperated and together at the same time, kind of like having your cake and eating it.

[Donnie B.]

church and state seperated and together at the same time, kind of like having your cake and eating it.Joined at the royal hips, you might say. :razz:

[HenrikOlsen]

Do other countries (outside the USA) have factions that are doing everything possible to "cleanse" their cultural heritage and traditions.
In Denmark we have a political party that's always spouting off about a need to be more Danish, their idea about what that means is an xenophobic mishmash of fundamental christianity and idealized memories of how things where in the old days.
Unfortunately they have an influence on policy out of proportion to their actual popularity as their mandates are often needed for the governing party to have a majority, so they get their policy through in exchange for support.

I've tried to keep this reasonably neutral, but I am aware that this is an area where it's almost impossible to descibe a situation in a way that won't offend someone.

[Sticks]

not the UK.

The UK has church and state just where they should be.
The queen is the head of state in name only and she is also the head of the church in a similar way.

church and state seperated and together at the same time, kind of like having your cake and eating it.

Remember Birmingham and the Winterville fiasco?

[Frog march]

Remember Birmingham and the Winterville fiasco?

what happened?

[Sticks]

The decided not to call it after that day that falls on 25 December, so as not to offend those from other religions and none.

Also remember last year when High Wycombe refused to allow a vicar to put up a poster in the library there listing services over the festive season.

[farmerjumperdon]

Appreciate the interesting replies. There was a case in MN, USA not long ago that ended up in a ruling in which the 10 commandments must be removed from a court building. Even though I am not a practitioner of any organized religious faith; I think they are wrong to remove such things. I mean you have this historic old building - archaic, full of memories of who we are and where we have been - and they want to start ripping out the bits that do not fit with today's idealized version of political correctness.

I hope these nuts never find anything they disagree with in REALLY important places. Are there any references to God in the columns or lentils or anywhere else on our nations important capitol buildings?

Imagine if these folks operated in the UK and found an inscription on Stonehenge that flirted with religion. TEAR IT DOWN!!!

[Sticks]

or lentils

Lentils :exclaim: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentils)

Don't you mean lintels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lintel)

I suppose it is one way to get back on topic and a way to select tonight's soup

anyone got some good recipies for lentil soup :dance:

[Donnie B.]

I prefer Black Bean, myself.

[N C More]

Lentils :exclaim: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentils)

Don't you mean lintels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lintel)

I suppose it is one way to get back on topic and a way to select tonight's soup

anyone got some good recipies for lentil soup :dance:

Well, I use red lentils when I have a left over ham bone (this is obviously not a vegetarian recipe).

What you will need:

1 cup washed red lentils

A ham bone

A large can of diced tomatos with the juice

Chopped onion and crushed garlic about 1/3 cup

Apx. 3 to 4 cups of water (ham bone should be covered)

Put everything in a large covered pot and simmer until the remaining ham falls off the bone (remove bone at this point) and the lentils are soft. Usually the ham gives it enough salt and I just season it with black pepper. It's really quite tasty and extremely easy. Good with some cheese sprinkled on it too!

[aurora]

Appreciate the interesting replies. There was a case in MN, USA not long ago that ended up in a ruling in which the 10 commandments must be removed from a court building. Even though I am not a practitioner of any organized religious faith; I think they are wrong to remove such things. I mean you have this historic old building - archaic, full of memories of who we are and where we have been - and they want to start ripping out the bits that do not fit with today's idealized version of political correctness.


Then you will be happy to know that the US Supreme Court ruled that historical objects, like the ten commandments that happen to be on government property but have been there for awhile (not sure what long enough is) have to be allowed to stay.

So you can rest easy. The old objects that were once commonplace when it was assumed everyone in the US was of one religion are to be left in place and not placed in museums.

[Monique]

Do not forget. Serve French Onion Soup with single drop of vinegar. Is important :)

[AGN Fuel]

anyone got some good recipies for lentil soup :dance:


Yes.

- Take a large quantity of uncooked lentils.
- Place in a large bag.
- Gently place bag into a large (preferably industrial) garbage bin.
- Pick up the phone and dial for a pizza.
- Wait 15 minutes. Pay delivery guy with exact change if available.
- Eat.


(Sorry - just too many bad memories from eating lentils as a skint student. Never again - I still get disturbing flashbacks when I see 'The Young Ones' episodes.....)

[tmosher]

Try it with the soup, I bet you'll like it. I'm hungry, and I'm spending my Holiday's alone, again, unless tmosher comes to visit and cook for me.

You won't be alone for the holidays.

Also, I can cook.

Tentative menu:
- ham or turkey
- stuffing
- yams (ok, sweet potatoes)
- salad
- fine bottle or two of wine.

[Sticks]

Actually I have now managed to perfect (sort of ) a recipie for red lentil soup.

I noticed that the comercial one at Greggs for £1.10 a pop has carrots in it. Is this standard for lentil and bacon soup?

BTW instead of a ham bone I tend to use bacon pieces I get from Grainger Market.

So the recipie is

briefly brown chopped bacon pieces, Herbs de Provance and spring onion in oil

Add red lentils and pearl barley

Add boiling water from the kettle

Simmer for 30+ minutes

From an earlier replie should I be adding chopped tomatoes?

[sarongsong]

Nope, and I use carrots, celery (along with the onions) and substitute chicken stock/boullion for plain water. Never tried bacon, but use instead, bite-size chunks of ham. Occasionally will add some hot sauce to the cooking pot.

[Sticks]

Lentil Soup The Movie (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SdC0jGtzN5k)

:)

[NEOWatcher]

Is this a comedy skit?

Nice measurment... It calls for 250 (somethings) but I didn't measure and poured in what looks like more, so I might as well use the whole bag...:doh::lol:

Oh; and the other ingredients...Yah, they really don't matter. :eh:

Do us a favor, and don't open any restaurants. ;)

[Fazor]

You know, I brought one of those Campbell's "Soup at Hand" things to work; just generic chicken and stars. I was adequately happy with it as my lunch choice. Easy to make. Warm. Not too many calories (trying to lose weight).

...then I go and read this thread. Suddenly chicken and stars isn't all that appetizing. Thanks alot.

(for the record, French Onion soup is one of my favorites)

[Frog march]

Here's a frame from the "movie" for those who are clickaphobic

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7507/sticksvs4.jpg

[mugaliens]

Whenever I make soups, I usually start off with about 2 lbs of chicken, beef, hamburger, sausage, or a combination. It's immediatley apparent why I start off in an 8-qt pot...

[NEOWatcher]

Whenever I make soups, I usually start off with about 2 lbs of chicken, beef, hamburger, sausage, or a combination. It's immediatley apparent why I start off in an 8-qt pot...
I got you beat...
A few years back, I asked for a very large soup pot for Christmas...My mom got me a 12 quart pot. I was able to get her to exchange it with a 16 quart one. I use it regularly.
Chili average about 10qt
Stock soup average about 12-14qt
Others vary

And yes; making fun of Stick's recipe is probably not a good move on my part since I never use a recipe or make anything the same way twice (except the part about starting off with sauted onions - always a first step no matter what the soup is).

[Sticks]

I actually had bacon and lentil soup tonight, done well it is quite yummy. It seems to be a soup peculiar to this region of England

[Swift]

Here's a frame from the "movie" for those who are clickaphobic

Or, how the star of that clip would say it....
Here's a freme-a frum zee "mufeee-a" fur thuse-a vhu ere-a cleeckephubic

[Sticks]

This morning, the glass bowlful in the fridge has kind of set, which for me is a good things as it facilitates transit to work. As well as dinner I get two days of lunches at work

:D