Saturday, December 5, 2020

How to Soup, Part 1

I always make soup after Thanksgiving using the turkey carcass. I have a giant soup pot and always make a lot of it, packing my freezer for the winter. I'm hoping to find a few people who are down on their luck to share it with this winter. It's been a tough year for everyone.

This is how I make my broth. Nothing really unique about it except maybe my use of turmeric, which gives it a buttery, earthy flavor.

Step 1: Fill pot halfway with water, add a branch of fresh rosemary and a handfull of fresh thyme sprigs from the garden, turn burner on low.

Step 2: Chop up some carrots, celery, and half an onion (I use the other half after the broth is finished.) I ate or pickled all the carrots I grew this year, so these are from the farmer's market at Eastern Market, as is the onion. The lovely lemon knife is from Hill's Kitchen.


Step 3: Add bay leaves from your beautiful bay laurel tree that you keep in your kitchen window for the winter.

Step 4: Add dried chiles you grew this summer in your garden.

Step 5: Remove the turkey meat from the carcass and throw the whole carcass in the pot. Put the meat in the fridge to add near the end of the cooking process.  
Step 6: Add enough turmeric to cover the surface of your broth. (This turmeric is from Souk Market on Barracks Row. I refilled an old container.)
Step 7: Stir, cover, and relax for an hour.

I am writing a cookbook with recipes from ingredients purchased from vendors around Eastern Market, so this and the coming blog posts are practice for that. I haven't entirely decided on the format yet, but I've been writing down my recipes for years.