By Gerald Etter
It might be challenging to expect a group of friends to see eye to eye on a subject like global warming, but everyone agrees on the soothingly warm and restorative powers of a bowl of soup.
Soup making, archeologists have discovered, is about as old as cooking itself. Today, it is eaten in just about every country. Its wide range of indigenous ingredients creates elegant bisques, as well as rich, thick chowders.
Many cultures have created easily digestible broths that serve as pick-me-ups if you’re feeling under the weather. Soups played such an important recuperative role throughout history that, in the West, they became known as restoratives. Small shops selling them in France gave birth to the words “restaurant” and “restaurateur,” because the French verb for “restore” is restaurer.
Four basic steps
Anyone can create a great soup. There are four basic steps in constructing any soup — the base, the broth, the main ingredients and the finishing touch. Using this approach, you can create your own soup with a signature touch, or at least have an understanding of how a soup is constructed.
Let’s create a carrot-orange soup. The base will be olive oil, butter, shallots, garlic, some rice and orange zest. The broth will be vegetable; the main ingredients carrots, honey, tomato paste and orange juice. For the final touch, we’ll use cayenne pepper, salt and a bit of nutmeg or allspice, and if you like, some toasted pine nuts.
Key is compatibility
As long as ingredients in the four basic steps are compatible, you can improvise and mix and match.
Compatibility, of course, has a lot to do with personal taste and also dietary restrictions. In this recipe, if you don’t care for shallots, substitute onions. If you’re avoiding butter, use all olive oil. If you like cream of carrot, add some heavy cream or Half-and-Half.
You can also add some fat-free milk if you’d like. It’s not necessary to add any type of cream or milk. It’s your decision. We’ll purée this soup, so if your diet dictates no cream, putting the soup in the blender helps create a rich mouth feel.
The final step is adding the seasonings and garnish.
It makes four to six servings.
Carrot-Orange Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large shallot (or 2 small ones) chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons long-grain rice
Grated zest of 1 orange
4 cups vegetarian broth
11/2 pounds packaged baby carrots
1 tablespoon honey, or more to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste
Salt to taste
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Heat olive oil in soup pot; melt butter in oil. Sauté shallot and add garlic. When garlic is lightly toasted, add rice and zest; toss until all ingredients are covered with oil and butter.
Pour broth into pot. Add carrots, honey, tomato paste, orange juice, heavy cream (if using). Bring to boil, lower to simmer and cover pot. Cook until carrots are tender.
In batches, purée soup in blender and return to soup pot. If necessary, thin with extra vegetable broth. Reheat, watching to be sure soup does not burn. As soup is reheated, add cayenne pepper, salt, nutmeg or allspice. Blend well with wooden spoon. Pour into bowls, topping each with pine nuts.
By The Senior Snacker
Day by Day, at 21st and Sansom Sts., has become a favorite lunch/brunch place for us and many of our friends.
The food, friendly service, moderate cost and low-key and unassumingly attractive ambience are the main attractions, and what’s more, it’s easily accessible for a wheelchair-bound companion. A very low step is easily negotiated followed by a gentle ramp to a table with plenty of elbow room.
Our Sunday brunch began with a terrific cup of coffee, served by a friendly waiter (Eric) who identified it as the Presidential blend of Ellis Coffee. We ordered platters ranging in price from $8 to $9, and being good friends, shared a bite of each.
Platter one was a two-egg omelet stuffed with spinach, roasted red peppers and goat gouda cheese; served with roasted potatoes and slices of pineapple and cantaloupe. The potatoes had the beautiful taste and color of the fried version without the unhealthy fat involved with that type of cooking.
More capers, please
Oops, almost forgot the choice of bagel, rye bread or English muffin.
Platter two was an oversized portion of thinly sliced smoked salmon on a bed of deep green lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, olives, cucumbers, capers, and of course, a bagel with cream cheese.
We told Eric how much we loved capers, and instantly another cup of the tangy little green berries appeared.
Platter three was a repeat of No. 2, with the salmon replaced by white fish salad and normally served without capers (but not in this case).
Platter four was a brunch special of Belgian waffles with strawberry sauce and luscious whipped cream.
We all agreed the food was wonderful, but we had ordered too much. Next time, each couple will order one platter and then we may be able to do more than just look at the desserts.
Making brunch healthier
Go-back-and-try entrées include poached eggs Florentine, potato pancakes Benedict and challa French toast.
We also developed a strategy to make our next brunch a little healthier. We’ll substitute jelly for the cream cheese, order whole-grain muffins instead of bagels, try that delicious coffee without cream or sugar, and skip any breakfast meat.
If you go during the week, the options you can expect include two soups, one of them usually vegetarian, plus lots of healthy sandwiches like roasted veggies, several variations on turkey and chicken, lots of fruit or veggie salads, and at least some of the brunch items.
Day by Day seats 65.
The clientele is a mix. Diners include young singles, families and people like us — seniors.
Day by Day
2101 Sansom St., Philadelphia, Pa. • 215-564-5540
Open for breakfast and lunch every weekday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,
and for Sunday brunch, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s closed on Saturdays.