The weekend before last, we went to visit some friends in Falls Church, VA, and took advantage of the opportunity to stop in at the local Penzey's Spices. We became fans of this store while visiting my in-laws in Indianapolis, but there isn't one in our area, so we always make a point of poking our noses in whenever we happen to be in a town that has one. The main reason is to replenish our supply of their excellent Vegetable Soup Base (it may look pricey at $10.85 a jar, but it goes a long way and makes any vegetarian soup more flavorful), but we inevitably take the opportunity to browse, as well, since Penzey's is a fascinating store to visit. They have just about every spice you could name, along with others you almost certainly couldn't, as well as their own signature blends. There are big glass jars and bottles of each spice for sniffing, so you can compare the four different varieties of cinnamon, or try to discern the subtle differences among barbecue spice rubs, or just breathe in the heady aromas of vanilla and lemon extract. You'll also see whimsical displays, such as the scaled-down model of a 1940s kitchen that holds all the baking spices in the Indianapolis store, or the nautical-themed display in the Falls Church store for all the various types of salt, featuring a rowboat converted into a set of shelves.
One of my desired functions at Penzey's is the little recipe playing cards they offer, loose for the taking, next to different spice blends to offer examples of the manner to use them. On our most recent revel in, I picked up an interesting-searching one called Three Sisters Soup, regarding the conventional trio of beans, corn, and squash that Native Americans often grew together as accomplice plant life. Since we already took place to have butternut squash within the lawn, corn within the freezer, and beans inside the pantry, I concept this will be a superb dish to strive as soon as the climate commenced getting bloodless.
This recipe, unluckily, is not among those archived on Penzey's net web page, so I can't supply it to you here in whole, however I'll provide you with an overview. After soaking and cooking the beans, you bake the wintry weather squash until tender (or use the shortcut I discovered out from a friend and simply microwave it entire for approximately 20 mins) and scoop out the flesh. Then, in a big pot, you saut? All of the elements you'll usually find out in a vegetable soup?Onions, carrots, celery, garlic?And add the squash, together with a few veggie inventory (which you could make from the Vegetable Soup Base) and bring it to a boil. Finally, you lessen it to a simmer and upload the beans, corn, a few herbs (the recipe called for dried, however we used clean), and cups of chopped tomatoes, and warmth it via.
Those tomatoes, once I first study via the recipe, struck a discordant examine in my mind. In preferred, I'm no longer a big fan of tomato-primarily based soups, because of the fact I feel just like the tomato flavor has a tendency to dominate and crush the entirety else. Tasting the aggregate of elements in my imagination, I could not help thinking that it might probable be higher with out the tomatoes. But I additionally make it a popular insurance not to tamper with a recipe the first time I make it (except possibly to omit some aspect I simply hate, like olives), so I can taste it in its meant form and decide whether or no longer it simply goals any modifications. So our first batch of Three Sisters Soup became with the aid of the e-book, tomatoes and all.
Alas, I assume I ought to have relied on my instincts. The completed soup became without a doubt colourful, and the mixture of flavors become exciting, but the ones tomatoes tasted just as wrong in my mouth as that they'd in my mind. I attempted to consume them up first simply so I should try and have a look at the relaxation of the soup with out them, but regrettably, their taste appeared to have permeated and strong its subtle have an effect on over the complete dish. It wasn't awful, exactly, it clearly tasted form of...Off. I discovered myself losing steam as I labored my way via it, and by using way of the give up, I have become so unenthusiastic that Brian ended up completing my bowl for me. To be honest, I need to notice that he sincerely desired the soup very plenty in its authentic shape and have become glad not simplest to polish off my element however additionally to get rid of all of the leftovers. But he also failed to think he'd locate it impossible to resist extensively plenty much less with out the tomatoes, so I think it we make it once more, we will definitely depart them out. (This alternate also has the benefit of allowing this soup to be made all winter lengthy. Corn, beans, and squash will all hold nicely within the freezer and pantry, however clean tomatoes are not lots appropriate as soon as the primary frost is past, and Brian and I agreed that substituting canned ones honestly would not work.)
So Three Sisters Soup will continue to be in our recipe record for now, however with a phrase on it to pass the tomatoes. Once we've got tried it that manner, we'll be able to determine whether or not or now not it is accurate enough to earn an area in our ordinary repertoire of iciness dishes. (And if you want to strive it your self, you can find the recipe at your nearest Penzey's save. If there may be one anywhere close to your normal buying route, you'll find out it well well worth the revel in.)
