There is nothing quite like a warm bowl of hearty soup. It fills the belly and warms the soul at the same time, as though there were something magical about it. And the greatest thing is that soups are inexpensive and easy to make. Also, they keep fairly well for a pretty long time in the fridge and can be stored pretty much forever if you freeze them. You can brew up a rather large quantity of just about any soup out there and feed the family for quite a while.

This particular soup is a vegetarian version of the ever popular Chicken Tortilla Soup. Dont let the lack of meat fool you though, its still just as filling and packs quite a spicy punch. I was a little concerned how it would turn out sans-chicken, but in the end I was quite surprised with how much I enjoyed this. The recipe is very easy, serves 10, and the whole thing only takes about 45 minutes to make. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

Ingredients:
8 cups vegetable broth
2 small white onions, chopped
3 Jalepeno peppers, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 dried habenero pepper, crushed
1 dreid serrano pepper, crushed
2 cans black beans, drained
1 can white beans, drained
6 ounces tomato paste
1 medium sized zucchini, chopped
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground oregano
5 fresh sage leaves, fine chopped
10 fresh basil leaves, fine chopped
4 small tomatoes, chopped
2 cups corn (frozen works fine)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground black pepper
8 small corn tortillas
Fresh cilantro to taste

Put the vegetable broth into a large (10 – 12 quart) stock pot, and set the heat on medium-low. Once the broth is warmed up a bit, add in the onions, garlic, jalepenos, habenero, serrano, and ginger. Allow this mix to sit and mingle for 10-15 minutes. you can use the time to get the rest of the ingredients ready (drain the beans, chop the veggies, measure the spices, etc.). Next, add in the black beans, white beans, tomato paste and zucchini, and turn the heat to medium. Allow another 10-15 minutes before continuing. Next, add in the tomatoes, corn and bell pepper and bring the whole mix to a simmer. Once you’ve reached a good simmer, reduce the heat and add the tortilla strips. Cook for 15 minutes, then add in the cilantro and serve immediately.

More Pictures

Enjoy :)
-E

This was my first ever attempt at smoking a turkey, and it came out so good that I thought I would post it here. Its a pretty pretty simple recipe. All you need is patience and a smoker large enough to hold a 14 pound bird.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 T ground cumin
1 T ground ginger
1 T black pepper
1 T seasoned salt
1 t ground cayenne
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 apples, peel on, cut into small chunks
2 orange, peel on, cut into small chunks
1 can diced pinapple
6 strips of bacon
Rib Stars chicken rub

Start by cooking the bacon to the point where its almost done. It should still be nice and flimsy and not have too much fat rendered out of it. Once thats ready, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, cumin, giner, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, bacon, 1 stick of butter, and the juice from the pineapple can in a 2 qt sauce pan. This mixture will serve as our injection later. Place over low heat and leave it, coming back to stir occasionally, while you prepare the bird.

To prepare the turkey, melt the remaining 1/2 stick of butter in something easy to pour from. When completely melted, gently pour it over the skin of the turkey. Use your hands to make sure you coat the entire surface (I like to wear latex gloves for this part). You want to make sure you get melted butter in every nook and cranny. Once you have coated the turkey thoroughly, sprinkle on a generous coating of the Rib Stars chicken rub. You can use your hands to spread it around a bit if you want, but keep in mind the butter will make it clump and turn into more of a paste. Once you have coated the outside, its time to take care of the inside. Stuff the turkey with the apple, orange, and pineapple chunks. Try to get as much fruit as you can inside the turkey. Alrighty, time to inject.

The key to injecting is to remember that there is no such thing as ‘too much’. You want to get as much of the injection mixture as you can into the turkey. So, grab your injector, suck up some of the mixture from the pan, and start near the bottom of the bird. Make sure you get the legs and wings. For deeper parts like the breast, jam the needle in as far as it will go, then press the plunger and pull the needle out at the same time. To put more injection in the same general area, don’t make a new hole. Instead, enter through the previous injection site at a different angle. Fewer holes = less leakage. Also, don’t mess around with those cheap ass $2 plastic injectors. If you want to do this right, plunk down the cash and get yourself a good stainless steel injector, preferably with multiple needles.

Ok, so now we are ready to smoke. Get your smoker up to 225 degrees and place the bird inside. A 14 pund bird will take about 6 hours to fully cook. Don’t rely on that little red popup dealie to tell you when the turkey is ready. Instead, use a thermometer and check the temp every once in a while. Once the internal temp reaches 165, you are safe. One common mistake here is to use too much smoke. If you constantly apply smoke, you will end up with a turkey that tastes, well, like smoke. Nobody wants that. To properly smoke a turkey (or anything for that matter), you need only apply smoke 3 to 4 times over the course of cooking with your favorite hardwood. Add small amounts of wood so that each ‘smoke session’ lasts about 30 minutes or so. If you are using a offset smoker, you may want to rotate the bird about halfway through the cooking to make sure the smoke coats it evenly.

And thats it! Once its fully cooked, remove form the smoker, let rest for 20 minutes, then carve it up and devour.

Enjoy :)
-E

Tags: BBQ, smoked, smoking, thanksgiving, Turkey