Matzoh ball soup

[redbird]

I spent the afternoon doing not much, while the chicken soup simmered into existence in my big orange Dutch oven.

When it was soup, I put all the carrots and a bunch of broth into a smaller pot, which I refrigerated, and froze the rest of the broth for later. Then I went back to playing with Usenet for a while.

Around 8, I made matzoh balls. This involves mixing up a few ingredients, letting them sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, then shaping the chilled glop into spheroids and simmering them for 40 minutes or so.

My dinner was slightly delayed as I realized that I'd forgotten to cut up the remaining chicken and put it into the simmering matzoh ball soup, but it was well worth the wait. Rich and tasty. Not quite like Grandma used to make--she didn't dice scallions and ginger to add to the soup--but every bit as good. Matzoh balls aren't difficult, you just have to remember an hour before dinnertime that you're going to want them. Chicken noodle or chicken rice is quicker.

I'm also amused by the matzoh meal package: the person who wrote the recipe assumes you're cooking with gas. Instead of "lower the heat" it says "lower the flame." I am cooking with gas, and like it that way, and I'm sure people who are using electric stoves can figure out what this instruction means; it's just one of those things that I'd say offhandedly to someone in the kitchen but probably catch before putting into print.

Comments

[redbird]

Nice and light, I guess you'd call them floaters.

What is "shehechyanu"?

[snippy]

It's the prayer for when you do something for the first time (this season, this year, what have you). Baruch attah Adonai, elohaynu melech chaolom, shehechyanu vikiamanu vihigianu l'azman h'azeh.

I like floaters! That's how I make them myself. I'll have to try your trick with the ginger in the broth, I think that would be good.

Probably not soon, though, both because I'm waiting for Passover and because I'm currently recovering from gall bladder surgery.

[redbird]

The nice thing about ginger in the broth is that it works on everything from canned vegetable soup on up, and powdered will do if you're not up to chopping ginger root (though fresh is much better).