Our venture into Menus

Okay...so D and I decided to venture into the land of menus...since we don't eat till like 10 if I have to make something when I get home...this way I can crock-pot most of our meals and it will be set ahead of time what we are eating. I've already failed! We're supposed to be having black bean soup tomorrow...but I can't do the prep stuff tonight because I forgot to soak the beans...may have to just rearrange things a bit...

Tonight: Clear Soup with Meatballs

This is not a crock-pot one, but I did prep everything the night before...it literally took about 20 minutes to come together...unfortunately, D won't be home till 9 or so. I used a package (8 oz) of fresh baby bellas in place of the mushrooms. I also used olive oil instead of peanut oil. I used a pound of beef (we're meat eaters), so I left the onion the same, upped the garlic, and added a little extra corn starch and a whole egg. Generally, the ground beef isn't "finely" ground around here, so I put it all in the food processor to mix together. This has the added effect of pretty evenly distributing everything as well as grinding the meat up a bit more. I think the instructions call for doing this anyway, but at least you don't have to worry about how fine your meat is. Also, I added more stock, as we added more meat and more mushrooms.

Clear Soup with Meatballs

4 to 6 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes

2 Tb Peanut oil

1 large onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2-inch piece fresh ginger root, bruised

2 1/4 quarts beef stock

1 Tb soy sauce

1 1/2 oz shredded kale, spinach, or Napa cabbage.

for the meatballs

6 oz finely ground beef

1 small onion, minced

1 to 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Tb cornstarch

a little egg white, lightly beaten

salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Prepare the meatballs: Mix the beef with the onion, garlic, cornstarch, and seasoning in a food processor. Bind the mixture with sufficient egg white to make it firm. With wet hands, roll into tiny, bite-size balls; set aside.

2. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid. Trim off and discard the stems. Slice the caps finely and set aside.

3. Heat a wok or a large sauce pain. Heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and fry to bring out the flavors, but do not let them brown.

4. When the onion is soft, pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the soy sauce and mushroom slices and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes.

5. Just before serving, remove the ginger. Stir in the shredded kale, spinach, or cabbage. Heat through for 1 minute. Serve at once.

The Soup Bible. 2002 Barnes and Noble Books