Sunday Salutations and A Recipe to Weather the Storm

Welcome to SubStack - we've moved all our blog posts to https://blog.casasent.blog, which is on SubStack.

It has been a stormy week both literally and figuratively here. Houston's wet season is upon us. Thursday storms rolled through Houston that were so violent many people were shocked. We are more use Hurricanes, which have a lead up, than sudden dramatic winds. Tod, I, and our local family were all safe during the event. In a way, it felt surreal because I almost enjoyed the sound of the thunder rolling though the sky sounding like drums and cannons going off in the distance. Combined with the rain pattering at the window glass, it made me crave a cozy fire.

The thunder was a marvel to listen to. However, it reminded me of Christa (one of my favorite Mini American Shepherds) and how she doesn't like the sound and shakes. Maybe it is because I grew up where there wasn't that much rain, but storms make me think that it should be chilly and cold. In Houston it is not chilly nor cold during a storm.

It is just wet and loud.

As comfort for those that had a bad week, or the weather put out of temper, I bring some of my favorite comfort food.

One of our favorite recipes for soup is what Tod called "girlfriend soup". The original version calls for spicy sausage, heavy cream, potatoes, broth, and not much else. Since then, I have stopped eating pork. I also don't eat much with cream.

So, I am presenting both the original "girlfriend soup" version and the updated, healthier "wife soup." Yes, us wives want to keep the husbands around longer to mow the yard and such.

This soup is really easy, but it isn't the quickest.

Girlfriend Soup Ingredients

(AKA Spicy Cream, Pork Sausage Soup and Potato Soup)

Ingredients

1 pound Hot Italian Sauage

1 pound red potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 teaspoon melted butter (optional)

1 Walla Walla Sweet Onion diced (For you Texans a 1013 Aggie Onion or whatever the local "sweet onion" is.)

2 cloves garlic

4 cups of bone broth

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 tablespoon cold water well mixed (optional)

Wife Soup Ingredients

(AKA Spicy Creamy, Beef Sausage, Potato Soup)

1 pound Hot Kosher Italian Beef Sausage

1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced.

1 Walla Walla Sweet Onion diced (For you Texans a 1013 Aggie Onion or whatever the local "sweet onion" is.)

3 cloves garlic

8 cups of bone broth (veggie broth also good)

2 cups flaxseed milk

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 tablespoon arrowroot in 1 tablespoon cold water, well mixed (strongly advised to help with texture).

Soup Preparation

The process for making both of these is about the same. Except I strongly recommend making sure to have the thickener with Wife Soup since the flaxseed milk doesn't really thicken it.

In a Large Dutch Oven or Pot

Bring 2-3 quarts of salted water up to boiling.

Clean and cube potatoes into 1/2-to-3/4-inch cubes.

Put diced potatoes into boiling water careful to not splash. Parboil for 3 minutes. Drain off water and put potatoes to the side.

In pot, add the broth and bring it to a light simmer.

In parallel in a separate skillet

Cut the sausage into sections or remove from casing. Brown the sausage in large skillet over medium heat. Should take around 7 minutes but depends on temperature and size of meat.

Remove sausage from heat, place inside bowl.

Dice onions.

Smash and dice garlic.

Sauté onions and garlic in large skillet. If there isn't enough fat from the sausage add butter. Takes about 3 minutes over medium heat.

Bring it all together (in Dutch oven or pot)

To the simmering broth, add the onions, garlic, sausage, and potatoes, Simmer for about 10 minutes. Check that the potatoes are cooked. Cook time will depend on how small they were cut. (Optionally add red crushed peppers).

Temper the flaxseed and cornstarch slurry before adding it to the soup, by taking a few tablespoons of the hot soup broth and whisking it into the cream. Repeat a few times until cream is warm. This is similar to tempering eggs.

Slowly add in the cream (and optionally the arrowroot thickener slurry).

After this do not bring to a boil again, as it will ruin the taste of the dairy ingredients.

Writing updates

Just like everything in real life can go back to science, here on the blog everything goes back to writing. We will have more writing updates next week. But we have our manuscript with our beta readers right now. This is pertinent because the novel takes place in a world where cooking is life and death, and magic is an everyday occurrence.

Coming Soon to some trad-pub slush piles this summer. We hope it ages like fine wine or cheese, as we don't expect to hear back about it for at least 18 months.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend and serving soup with the best of them.

~Anna and Tod