Soup Lab – (01/26/22)
Peanut Curry Soup
Listed ingredients:
1 package of 4-6 chicken thighs, boneless skinless, bone in, skin on, it doesn’t matter
Olive or other neutral oil
salt
1 sweet or yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4-inch piece of ginger, microplaned or grated small
2-inch piece of fresh turmeric or 1 tsp dried turmeric
2 tsp curry powder
Fresh ground black pepper
Quart chicken broth
1 ½ cup peanut butter
1 bunch spinach, or any green
My ingredients:
4 slices of bacon
Olive Oil
Garlic
Salt
Sweet yellow onion
Ginger paste
Turmeric powder
Curry Powder
Gara masala
Black pepper
Chicken broth
Peanut butter, creamy and powdered
Green Curry Georgia Candy Roaster Soup
Listed ingredients:
1 sweet or yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 four-inch piece of ginger, microplaned or grated small
2 large portobello mushrooms or 12 cremini or white mushrooms, sliced
Thai green chili curry, we will be using various amounts depending on your tastes
salt
1 jalapeño, serrano or Thai bird chili diced (optional)
Olive or other neutral oil
1 quart vegetable broth
1 medium sized butternut squash (or Georgia Candy Roaster) peeled and cubed
1 head broccoli
2 large tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
Lime and cilantro for garnish
My ingredients:
Sweet yellow onion
Garlic
Ginger paste
Portabella mushrooms
Green chilies
Jalapeño
Olive oil
Chicken broth
Georgia Candy Roaster
Broccoli
Coconut Milk
Cilantro
I knew from the beginning that my soup was not going to be an exact match of the instructors soup. My ingredients were limited by my budget and what they sell at Walmart, and I had to make some substitutes. My chicken also was not defrosted enough by the time class has started, so I had to make a last minute switch to my roommates bacon. Regardless, I had been looking forward to this workshop for days and a couple ingredient substitutes are nothing to a kid who grew up on “fridge roulette” dinner.
We started with the chicken, or in my case the bacon. I was surprised that we weren’t seasoning the chicken more heavily but I understood when it got shredded, that it wasn’t meant to be a statement part of the soup, more a protein that would take on the flavor of the soup and provide some texture. As the chicken cooked (or in my case, as my bacon rested) we got started on the vegetable soup. We cooked our aromatics, the ginger, onion, garlic with a little olive oil, as well as some turmeric and cumin powder. We prepped the mushrooms, jalapeño, and squash and added those in too. We then added the chicken stock (supposed to be vegetable stock but I couldn’t really justify buying two cartons of stock and I didn’t have enough scraps or time to make veggie stock) and brought it to a boil, then I brought it down to simmer and seasoned it with a bit more cumin and added in the green chilies and coconut milk. I allowed that to cook for a few minutes before adding in my broccoli and giving it its final few minutes on the heat. I ended up hitting it with my immersion blender and a bit of nutritional yeast and I think it turned out great.
Then we turned to the peanut curry soup. While everyone moved their chicken off the baking tray and drained the oils into a pan, I transferred my bacon into a bowl and began softening my onions in the bacon grease. I added in the ginger, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, and Gara masala with a little salt to help the onions soften and release water. I added in my chicken broth, let that heat up and then added in my peanut butter so that it would easily melt into my soup. I mixed in my bacon pieces and allowed it to go for a few minutes. I decided to keep my soup a little thicker, closer to curry than soup honestly but I loved the flavor. It didn’t come out looking super pretty but it was my favorite out of the two.
Top: My green curry Georgia candy roaster soup after it was finished cooking but before I blended it. Middle: Cooking onions in the bacon fat. Bottom: My Peanut Curry Soup Final Product.
Community Gardening – (01/24/22)
Due to an unfortunate medication mishap, I was late to class today, however I was able to catch most of the last half. I was sent go and work in the herb garden pulling weeds, and I spent 30-40 minutes there chatting to the other students in there and it was honestly really nice after my highly unusual morning. Butch came to keep us company, and the weather was overcast but not too cold, overall, it felt like a satisfying and fun end of a farm shift. I wish I had been able to be there for the whole shift but it was nice to see people and spend some time outdoors regardless. Sarah distributed our Georgia Candy Squash (which I had never heard of before) and we talked about Wednesdays soup lab. I am excited, both for the soup lab on Wednesday, and to be back on the farm again soon!
Top: My orange work gloves covered in dirt after weeding in the herb garden. Middle: Classmate pets Butch in the herb garden. Bottom: Dr. Sarah holds up the Georgia Candy Squash.
Farming While Black – Chapter 5 (01/22/22)
“West African farmers continue to produce and use dark earth today. The elders in the community measure the age of their town by the depth of the black soil, since every farmer in every generation participated in it’s creation.” (Pg. 94)
Western medicine misses a lot of good practices due to the white person fear of anything culturally too different. It looks like farming is no different, we stick to methods we have watched fail for years (see the part about tilling), while ignoring potentially revolutionizing farming techniques. Where are other places in food, nutrition, and agriculture that we see this happening?