Warm Weather Soup and the Raw

Depending on your emotional state, you may be planning for fall. I have two feet in summer, one hand in fall, and the other hand grasping for otherworldliness. This is how the white plumeria feels.



The pink plumeria, taller, and budless, remains mum. I gave it more food this morning. You may be interested in an all-season recipe.

Loaves and Fishes take-out foods offers this restorative chicken soup. Located in Montauk, NY, I must drop in on in my armchair journey to Harriet M. Welsch's haunts. If only there were Bunny at the piano and Zeeney climbing from the limo.



From Summer on a Plate by Anna Pump.
Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 T (1 ounce) unsalted butter
2 C chopped onion
1 C chopped carrots
1 1/2 C chopped celery
1 C chopped fennel
2 C peeled and chopped Yukon Gold potatoes, in 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 quarts Chicken Stock
3 C cooked chicken meat
1 C shelled peas (1 pound in the pod)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T minced curly parsley

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, celery, fennel, and potatoes and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Do not let the mixture brown. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let the soup simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and peas. Simmer for 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.

Yields 6 or more servings.

The root vegetables unstandably testify of their own death, cooking to a dulled softness. Bright peas rescue the soup from deep winter. Spring is all seasons. Offer some to a favorite.

This next choice is an appeal to cookie dough eaters, in which group I don't belong. Except for this recipe. In fact, I don't encourage baking the cookies. They lose their macadamia-ness and hoped for nutty texture. It is a normal cookie. I am still puzzling.

So, here's The Good Cookie from The Greyston Bakery Cookbook. The White House ordered them for its Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn (is there a lesser roll on the north lawn?) in 1993. I am looking forward to The Great Blondie for the picnic on Friday evening at the park on the ocean cliffs. Other future favorites may include Anise Seed Cake with Orange Icing, Chocolate Banana Nut Cake, Burnt Almond Torte, Macaroon Brownies Bars, and Sticky Toffee Cakelets.

The Good Cookie

1 1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 C (about 4 ounces) ground Brazil or macadamia nuts
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 C (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate pieces

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly grease several baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, ground nuts, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer set on medium speed, cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate. Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. (If you're not baking all of the cookies at once, keep the extra dough chilled.) Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for at least 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.