Banh Mi and Bikes

We will be slingin' vegetarian banh mi sandwiches from a food bike tomorrow!  Come on down, ride your bike, see all the pretty bikes!  EAT!  See why Nick and I have been so busy neglecting this lovely blog!

Summer Soup

In the same way we push our heavy coats to the back of the closet, come May I like to retire my huge soup pot, and use it exclusively for large batches of berry and stone fruit jam.  The warm days mean less stove and oven time, more fresh veggie time.  Yet it is now June and we still have an extra blanket on the bed, our wool jackets at the ready, and we are having chicken noodle soup for dinner. 

When it comes to a hearty soup I use the chop and toss method.  Onions, celery, and carrots taste good and feel good, so they go in the pot to dry roast before I pour in chicken broth and water.  I add the chicken and cook.  When the chicken has fully cooked, I pull it out, shred the meat and remove any skin and bone.  Put the meat back, spice, taste, spice... I think most folks have a tried and true chicken noodle soup recipe laying around.

Oh but the noodles!  Fresh pasta is so easy and so special and so delicious.  For noodle soup a nice wide egg noodle is perfect.

Combine two eggs and two egg yolks, set aside.  Place two cups of flour in a bowl or on a work surface.  Make a well in the center, add your eggs and work your flour into the egg with a fork. when the dough comes together enough to use your hands, kneed together, shape into a disk, and let rest for at least an hour.

When it is time to roll out your dough, I suggest working a quarter to a third at a time.  You can roll pasta dough by hand with a rolling pin.  I am very modern and fortunate to have a pasta roller, so I just feed it through the machine.

When you have reach your desired thickness, you can flour, fold and cut into your desired with!
Gingerly pull apart and add your pasta to your soup.  Your pasta will only take a few minuets to cook (depending on how thick it is) after three minuets I will usually check it.

Hearty and warming soup, perfect for a winter meal... or a rainy June I suppose.  I'm not complaining, I love noodle soup!  I'm just ready for river trips and tee shirts.  Until then, stay dry and warm.