Oklahoma always has it all -heat, drought, fires you name it. But for the last few years this drought has had a major impact on so many states. A friend of mine is a commerical nurseryman in Southwestern Kansas and she may actually have to close up her business if this drought cycle doesn't break next year. They say hog farmers are having to sell their livestock early because there just hasn't been enough rain (get your cheap bacon while you can). And everyone knows about the cattle ranchers and farmers. I'm so happy someone is getting rain. We got an inch after months of nothing last week, but nothing since and that inch is long gone. Mother nature needs to give us all a break out this way....Maryl

the baking soda is to cut the acid so your milk doesn't turn into cottage cheese when you add it. This is the way my grandmother's family made it on the farm. Her family had a farm and little money, they raised and canned the food they needed. Very few things were store bought: spices,flour. tea. coffee. I still remember that if they planned to have fried chicken for Sunday dinner you killed and dressed the chickens saturday. I have no idea how old the recipe is but I'm in my 60's and I can't remember the first time I ate it. I really like the large pieces of tomatoe and flavor. By the way goes great with grill cheese sandwiches. mike

Here are a couple of soups we've been making. Both are recipes from Elephant's Deli here in Portland, favorites of daughter and mine. Elephant's publishes the recipes, so we decided to duplicate them at home. The exact wording is not Elephant's, I simply copy/pasted from ''My Recipes'' on Calorie Count where I've been storing recipes lately. I've noted where I tweaked the recipe a bit. Also, my serving sizes may be inconsistent. Mama Leone's Soup Makes 6 servings, each 160 calories. 1/2 lb chicken breast 15 oz canned diced tomato 1/2 cup flour 3/4 cup heavy cream 1 onion 3 stalk celery 1 tbsp garlic 1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp tarragon 2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 tsp salt 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp butter 6 cups chicken stock 2 cups spinach 1. Lightly salt and pepper chicken breasts, bake 20 minutes at 375F, dice meat and set aside. 2. In large pot over medium heat, heat oil, melt butter, and cook onions and celery (both diced) until onions translucent (about 7-10 minutes). 3. Add garlic (minced or crushed), tarragon and oregano (dry or fresh), paprika, black pepper, and 1 tsp salt. Stir and cook a few more minutes. 4. Add flour, stir until absorbed. 5. Add chicken broth, stirring and scraping bottom of pot. Bring to boil. 6. Add tomato with the sauce (I give the tomatoes a buzz in the food processor to smooth them out) and cream, stir, reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. 7. Add diced chicken and simmer for at least another 10 minutes. 8. Adjust seasoning, adding rest of salt if desired. 9. Finely slice or shred spinach, add shortly before serving. 10. Note: 11. Chicken may be dark meat. 12. Cream may be replaced with half and half, but it won't be as good. Elephant's Tomato Orange Soup Makes 6 servings, each 220 calories. 1/2 cup butter 1 onion 28 oz canned diced tomatoes 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp baking soda (I omit this, because I never have any around) 1 tsp dried thyme 3/4 cup orange juice (recipe says 1 cup, I find that a wee bit much) 1/2 cup heavy cream 1. Melt butter, add diced onion, cook to translucent. 2. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered 15 minutes. 3. Puree in a food processor or blender. If you want a particularly smooth soup, strain through a sieve or food mill. 4. Return to pot and add orange juice and cream. Adjust seasonings, and serve. Lastly, this is a tomato orange soup that does not use cream or butter. Not an Elephant's recipe. Tomato Basil Orange Soup, Creamless Makes 8 servings, each 80 calories. 56 oz canned whole tomatoes 1 medium onion 3 cloves garlic 1 tbsp basil 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tbsp brown sugar 3 cup chicken stock 3 slice bread 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp orange juice 1. Place canned whole tomatoes (two 28-oz cans) on baking sheet, sprinkle with brown sugar, roast at 375F for 45 minutes. Save the canning juice. 2. Roughly dice bread, after removing crust. 3. Heat oil in large pot on medium heat. 4. Rough chop onions and garlic, cook in oil until soft. Add a bit of stock as needed to avoid burning. 5. Add reserved canning juice, basil, red pepper, bread, and salt. Reduce heat to low, add 1 cup stock, and simmer. 6. Add roasted tomatoes and any juice released during roasting. Roughly mash tomatoes, simmer for 20 minutes. 7. Transfer to blender and puree to smooth. Add remaining stock as needed to achieve desired consistency. 8. Squeeze orange and add juice slowly, stirring and tasting as you go. The juice adds a bright, sweet, tart flavour, which you can make subtle or bold. 9. Serve with garnish of bread cubes, chopped chives, and/or orange peel/zest. 10. Notes: 11. Basil may be fresh or dried. A tangerine may be substituted for the orange, as can commercial orange juice. Vegetable stock may be used. I've also recently made the above soup as a sweet tomato bisque, leaving out the bread and orange, but adding plenty of brown sugar and/or honey and some cream.

Here are some of our favourite thick soups: CREAM OF CHICKPEAS - Crema de Garbanzos 3/4 lb chickpeas (300 grams) 5 cloves garlic - peeled 1 medium onion - peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf fresh ground black pepper tarragon - to taste salt 1) Put chickpeas in a pot, cover with cold water and let soak about 12 hours. 2) Once that time has elapsed, drain chickpeas and cover with fresh cold water again, adding the onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf and salt. 3) Cook for about 2 hours or until the chickpeas are tender. 4) Drain chickpeas, keeping some of the cooking liquid and put into blender together with tarragon and a little pepper. 5) Blend, adding some of the cooking liquid until you have the desired consistency. 6) Pass through a sieve, gently reheat and put into a soup tureen, garnishing with chopped parsley. Serve hot. Source: Translated from Cocina Hoy S.L. --------------------------------------------------------- Here's one of my favourite Spanish dishes: - Although I have been making it for years the way a Spanish cook once showed me, I have also tried the preparation seen recently on a Spanish Cooking TV channel. Their ingredients included a small pice of or pork fat and a stewing chorizo (chorizo para guisar). If choosing a chorizo for this dish, be sure it is the right type which has the red pimiento colour. of the ingredients. The small piece of tocino can be seen just to the right of the sprig of rosemary. 350 grams (1 1/2 cups) of small dark lentils - put them to soak the night before in water to cover 100 grams (3.5 oz) red stewing chorizo sausage - lightly pricked over with tines of a fork 50 grams (1.7 oz) salted tocino pork fat - cut into large diced pieces 1 TBSP flour 2 carrots diced fine 2 medium leeks, using only white stems sliced finely in rounds 1 lg clove garlic (this was optional but I wouldn't leave it out) - pass through garlic press 2 cups beef broth (I used 2 Knorr cubes) 1 bay leaf fresh rosemary - small sprig olive oil - about 1/4 cup 2 cups extra water to add after 1st hour 1. Soak lentils the NIGHT BEFORE in water to cover. 2. Next day drain and rinse lentils, put aside. 3. Heat olive oil in heavy cooking pot. When sizzling, add carrots, garlic and leeks. Lightly brown while stirring. 4. Add 1 TBSP flour and keep stirring for about a minute. 5. Add lentils, beef broth, whole chorizo, tocino, laurel and rosemary 6. Put on lid and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check after 1st hour and add up to 2 more cups water as needed. 7. Adjust seasoning and serve. ----------------------------------------- Ingredients: lentils - 250 grams (slightly over 1 cup) garlic - one whole head onion - 1 large - quartered Kasseler smoked pork chop - 1 large (or 250 grams other smoked pork or bacon) ham or pork bone as for making stock 4 medium carrots - sliced into coins 2 stalks celery - diced 5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 8ths 6 flowerettes of cauliflower green beans - handful sliced tomato puré - small 4 oz tin olive oil - 4 TBS fresh garden herbs: 1 bay leaf, several sprigs thyme, Italian flatleaf parsley 2 or 3 sprigs chicken stock 1 liter (4 cups) or water and 3 Knorr chicken stock cubes salt & fesh ground pepper water to cook lentils vinegar - 1 teasp garlic croutons - optional garnish Method: 1) Turn on oven to 350F. Put lentils in large heavy bottomed stew pot with water to cover plus about 2 inches, bring to boil and simmer 45 minutes. Check water level and add more as needed. 2) Meanwhile put whole head of garlic into shallow baking pan together with quartered onion, Kasseler or smoked pork and ham or pork bone, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven at medium heat about 45 minutes. 3) Remove baking tray from oven when all is nicely browned and cut meat into small dice and add to lentil pot along with onion. Squeeze garlic from skin into lentil pot, adding ham/pork bone along with oil and juices scraped from roasting pan. 4) Add rest of vegetables to lentils, chicken stock (or water and stock cubes), tomato puré, fresh herbs and bay leaf, parsley - reserving one sprig, fresh ground pepper. Bring to boil and simmer about 1 hour until vegetables are done, adding more water if needed. 5) When vegetables are tender, remove ham/pork bones and any bare thyme stems from pot, check for flavour and add salt as needed. Add vinegar and stir. 6) Serve with a bit of chopped parsley and more fresh ground pepper. Homemade garlic croutons are also nice as a garnish. Source: Recipe as I learned from a Mallorquin housewife years ago. ------------------------------------------ The next day I made the rest - about 4 cups - of our previous day's stewed lentils into ... I started out using my hand cranked food mill and when I realized it wasn't going to do the job I put it all into my food processor, adding the following: 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth (using Knorr cube and water) 2 lg cloves of garlic crushed and browned in 1/4 cup oil in small frypan 2 slices brown bread broken in small pieces and fried in the garlicky oil until brown Processed the above until smooth and then heated it gently. Diced some more pieces of brown bread and toasted them in the frying pan with oil and garlic salt for the croutons. Closeup Lentil Puré. It was super tasty and Wolf really enjoyed it as well ! We were both full after two bowls each. ----------------------------------- Garlic Soup (Sopa de Ajo) ************************ A garlic soup recipe from the Mediterranean Island of Mallorca. Ingredients: 9 oz (250 grams approx) *shaved dry brown bread 6 garlic cloves 6 fine stalks spring onions 1 small cabbage 2 medium size ripe tomatoes fresh Italian parsley 1/2 cup good quality olive oil 1 teaspoon red sweet pimento powder salt water * Note: this refers to a type of local bread often used in soups (sopas) as a way of using up stale bread. It's a round, flat and heavy tan-coloured dense country bread loaf which is sliced crosswise paper thin, the cut pieces having a half-moon shape and being as thin as a slice of salami. (An electric meat slicer does the job well if you can find a heavy loaf of brown country bread.) Method: Heat the oil in an open, shallow casserole dish and add the peeled garlic cloves; remove them when browned and set aside. Add the finely chopped spring onions to the oil and when lightly golden add the finely chopped cabbage. Stir fry together then add the pimiento powder and enough water to cover all. Mash the browned garlic cloves in a mortar and pestle, add a little water to dilute the paste then add to the casserole. Season with salt and cook until tender at a low heat on the stove top. Then add the bread slices, scooping up the cabbage mixture and piling it on top of the bread to sink it down. Let return to a boil and remove from the stove. This soup is usually brought to the table and served out of the same casserole. I don't have a photo of the finished product but I do have my Mallorquin clay casserole which is what is normally used. Called a I brought mine from Mallorca over 20 years ago and whatever comes out of it tastes wonderful. It works equally well in the oven or on an open gas flame. SharonCb