Blog

Luscious Lemon Rice Soup

The original recipe for this soup came from one of the Best of Bridge cookbooks.  I have made a few changes to the instructions, and I’ve served it hundreds of times. It is delicious hot or cold, and it makes a comforting gift to take to a friend, who is feeling under the weather.

The soup is thickened with egg, not flour, and, as long as you choose the broth accordingly, this is a perfect dish to serve guests who are gluten intolerant. All of my grandchildren have enjoyed this soup, but my granddaughter savours every bite!

When served warm, this soup feels amazing on your insides. Sip it slowly and know that it is good for you.

Lemon Rice Soup

This recipe is delicious served ice cold in beautiful china teacups or warm in chunky stoneware mugs. I serve it as a light lunch or a delightful appetizer.

Ingredients: 

6 cups of chicken or turkey broth

⅓ cup long or medium-grain raw white rice (not converted)

1 teaspoon of salt (optional)

3 eggs

¼ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 lemon thinly sliced (garnish)

Method:

Combine broth, rice, and salt in a 4-quart pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the rice is tender (25 minutes).

Remove from heat and let stand while preparing the eggs.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, using an electric hand mixer, until thick. Continue beating as you slowly add the lemon juice.

Carefully, stir 2 cups of the hot broth and rice mixture into the egg mixture, half a cup at a time, as you continue beating.   

Then add this warmed egg mixture back into the remaining broth-rice mixture. Beat for one minute. Return the soup to the stove and bring it to the boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring, while boiling for two minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat and let it stand for an hour or so, to cool and thicken. Refrigerate the soup. This soup thickens as it chills. It should be the consistency of custard when ready to serve.

Serving suggestions:

One: Ladle soup into fine china teacups until approximately 2/3 full and place interesting teaspoons on the saucers. Sit several cups of soup on a tray and return to the fridge until guests arrive. Serve this soup, cold, as a refreshing appetizer on a hot day in summer. Garnish the edge of each cup with a thin slice of lemon. This soup is delicious served with a glass of white wine or a bottle of sparkling water. Tiny tea biscuits with cheddar cheese make a perfect accompaniment. If you know the history of your chosen cups or spoons, the conversation has a perfect beginning.  

Two: This soup is delicious served warm in the chill of winter. Ladle soup into stoneware mugs and microwave on high. The time required varies with the size of the cup. Place an interesting spoon on the saucer and serve to guests as they settle into a conversation. For a lovely lunch, serve the soup with wedges of warm cranberry cornbread and cheddar cheese.  

A Blue Ribbon for My Ancestors

At our house, we celebrate with cake! Often, our cake of choice is Most Memorable Marguerite Cake. Recently, I received a Blue Ribbon for this recipe. The ribbon came in the mail from a wonderful Internet site called Just a Pinch®. The idea of someone else trying this recipe, loving it, awarding it a ribbon of merit, and actually taking time to put the ribbon in the mail was exhilarating for me. I raised my hand in a heavenward high-five congratulating my mom, my aunt, and the neighbour who originally shared the recipe.   

One by one, my mom, her sisters, and her sisters-in-law made this cake, and one by one, their husbands fell helplessly in love with the recipe. This all happened before I was born, so the recipe is definitely vintage. It is fabulously unique in its flavours and that makes it ribbon-worthy. Until you make the recipe, you can’t possibly understand the magic it brings to a party. 

Just a Pinch® is an Internet recipe club, but like Marguerite Cake, it is so much more than it seems, at first glance. Receiving the ribbon sent me back to the Just a Pinch® site, and, as usual, there had been improvements. Janet Tharpe hosts the site, and, in the test kitchen, Janet works with her daughter-in-law to prepare and sample hundreds of down-home recipes, submitted by Just A Pinch® members. Janet says, “Blue Ribbons are our way of giving little extra kudos to outstanding home cooks and their recipes.”

You can’t go wrong with a Blue Ribbon Recipe from Just a Pinch® because one of three things has happened to such a winning recipe. Janet might have been drawn to it and tested it in her kitchen. She and her daughter-in-law spend hours reading new submissions and watching the recipe trends on their site. The Honorary Kitchen Crew might have tested the recipe, in their home kitchens, based on their interest in the recipe. Or, at least three Just a Pinch® members might have nominated the recipe, which will elevate it to Janet’s kitchen for immediate testing.  

Just a Pinch® is a home cook’s paradise. I stumbled upon it by accident and joined out of curiosity. Their slogan is, “The largest collection of real recipes from real home cooks.” The interest groups become little sub-sites, where you can ask questions, get to know your favourite cooks, and draw the members’ attention to recipes they might want to try. There are 169 pages of groups, with 8 groups listed per page. I have joined nine groups so far.

Anyone can start an interest group, but, if you start a group, you need to have time to manage it. I haven’t yet started a group, but I would like to be part of a group focusing on recipes from the 50s and 60s. Bonnie D has a group called, Tried and True, and as the name implies, you don’t post recipes there unless you have made them, many times, for your family. She has 4.7 thousand members. Heather S. manages Gluten-Free Living with 258 members, who are really serious about their specific family needs.

I have a very organized approach to storing my recipes, but also having a virtual recipe box on the Just a Pinch® site allows me to link friends to a recipe, easily and quickly. Once a recipe is on the site, you can print it, rate it, pinch it for your own files, post it on Facebook and Pinterest, or contact the cook who submitted the recipe to ask questions. Just a Pinch® is extremely easy to use, because they prompt you every step of the way. You can even build a recipe book and have it published.

Of course, nothing can replace sitting down with a glossy photo-filled cookbook and enjoying the slow turning of the pages. However, being in touch with thousands of home cooks on the Internet has its charm too. My aunts won blue ribbons for recipes at their local fairs. One was known for her angel food cupcakes and another was known for her date square. Now, I have brought home a ribbon for a cake they used to make, and I am proud to share it with them. Click here to visit Just a Pinch®. 

Pecan Bites

Pecan Bite

The original recipe for these gluten free, easy, delicious treats was from Company's Coming. The Boy, from the Get a Bigger Wagon stories, says, "They are so delicious they must be illegal." 

Preheat the oven to 300°F

1 egg white

1 cup of brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 cups of pecan halves, whole

Beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is stiff. Mix in the vanilla. Fold in the nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto greased baking pan or line a cookie sheet with a Silpat.

Bake the Pecan Bites in a 300°F oven for 20 minutes. Cool these little bites before tasting, because they create a sticky centre which holds the heat.