In Episode 8 "Pasty" I had mentioned the evening having been filled with hysterical laughter as we flipped through the family recipe book to choose our next adventure. When I was a kid, my mother would always make "potato soup" and her "potato soup" was extremely simple, with only a few basic ingredients, but was a favorite of mine. So, when I saw "Potato Soup" in the family recipe album I was excited to try a different version of a childhood favorite from my great-grandmother's recipes. My aunt's initial reaction was "Oh no! Not potato soup!" followed by a few expressive and hysterical faces. I was surprised, and asked "Really, you don't like potato soup?" "Not THIS potato soup!" I laughed because I had no idea how one potato soup could be much different than another. I would soon find out!
Now, before we continue, this new adventure has not only a new recipe, but a new cooking style - a virtual duality cooking adventure, if you will! As I mentioned in Chapter 9 "Staying Safe..." we wanted to "keep to our schedule" and still make the Potato Soup. We decided to play with the amazing technology at our finger tips and video called each other when it was time to start dinner. From the words of my great-aunt, it "was interesting and a first for the old [sic] Aunties... " to use a video messaging phone application to cook! Although "there is no replacement" for the energy that fills the kitchen when we are all together, we counted our blessings in sharing another adventure while being safe and socially distancing.
There is an organic chemistry of brainstorming that gets lost when you cook via video. For example, in previous recipes we have a discussion before we begin cooking on what exactly the recipe says to do. As we would not be together for this mind meld, I reviewed the recipe and emailed my aunt to prepare for the soup cookery. One may be thinking "couldn't you have the same discussion before you cook just in the video call?" Well... yes, I suppose one could, however this recipe shares the same flaw many a family recipe has - NO MEASUREMENTS! Considering I have never made THIS version of "Potato Soup" I did not know what to expect and wanted to make sure that I was prepared enough when the time came to begin cooking. Additionally, I would be scaling back the recipe, as my husband and I in now way would be able to eat a large vat of potato soup just for ourselves. This challenge called for some exploratory investigation first!
The recipe says "peel your potatoes"... "add some"... "cut several"... I think the only definitive ingredient was "a chopped onion" which in my mind equates to one chopped onion. The email conversation consisted of a line by line breakdown of the recipe with what I interpreted from the recipe and my guestimated amount of ingredients to seek guidance from my aunt, who as I have mentioned has fond memories of this soup, so she would most certainly know the ratios! (My statements are in purple and my aunts' replies are in purple, save for a select few... you will see) 😂
"I think I am going to use about 2 large potatoes or 3 small", "two small ones for us" was the reply.
"Do you salt the water?" (Legitimate question because I feel as though salting water for pasta or potatoes, even hard boiled eggs, is a given in some households and sacrilegious in others). "We will season later... so no salt now. We will do this because it depends on how salty the bacon is." This helpful hint is one that had never crossed my mind, I am glad I asked!
"Add some egg noodles (egg noodles are optional) - I am not going to be adding egg noodles" [note to reader, I didn't have any]; "We will be adding home made egg noodles... making them today" (the word YUM comes to mind).
"Cut several slices of bacon... fry until crisp - I am going to use 2 -3 I fried in the airfryer" "same here""Add a chopped onion.... how big of chunks? I took chopped to mean similar knife cuts to previous recipes, and scaling back, using only a small amount of the leftover bacon grease." The reply to this made me smile as it was bolded in red with great affirmation "I hated the large onion pieces floating around this soup... so we are going to finely chop!" I envisioned slices or wedges of whole onion floating around the top of greasy watery Exxon Valdez potato soup as one would envision monstrous toxic lily pads on a dilapidated slimy old pond. I giggled. Out loud. These are stories you can't make up!
"Add as much milk as you want soup.... " The recipe doesn't call to drain the potatoes and noodles first, just to add the milk. My aunt says she remembers her mom just adding the milk to the potato noodle water and that it was terrible watered down that way so we agreed that we would drain the water out then add the milk and bring to temperature.
"Add salt pepper onion with small amount of the [bacon] grease... I think I will probably only use what is coating the onion and not all the grease drippings" the retort was again with great conviction, bolded in red, "us too ... the diluted bacon fat milk is creepy". Please tell me, when was the last time you heard a soup described as "creepy!?" again, my mind began to wander into its imagination dreaming of some starter course in an Edgar Allan Poe novella.
The last email exchange question was whether or not butter was added. The recipe I grew up knowing didn't have bacon, but butter was used as flavoring to the soup; "I suppose the backon fat replaces the butter" she advised. I am quite sure she is correct. I don't know what butter could have contributed to this concoction, besides more floating "creepy" fat. Possibly another layer or different depth of flavor?
Finally the time has come to start the cooking process. My aunts made homemade egg noodles, a really simple recipe that I will most definitely be learning myself. I have an egg noodle recipe from my maternal grandmother, I didn't even think to use for this until afterwards! The love that was put into making these noodles is worth sharing; here are the fruits of their labor:
As I gathered all the ingredients, I realized it would be difficult to peel the potatoes while trying to possibly hold the phone or at least be "in the screen" so I peeled the potatoes before we started the call. My aunts did not peel their potatoes, so again there is a variation between the two soups we ended up making, decisions that can be made based on personal preference. (I think we are up to four different versions of potato soup, now!)
Once the potatoes are peeled, they need to be cut into bite sized chunks. Again - up to interpretation, how big are "bit size cubes"? "Well, she has small mouth bites, so ours will be on the smaller side". I'm laughing so hard at this point. "Small mouth bites?" Well, I am not self aware of what bite size I have, I've been told I have a big mouth, but my husband makes fun of me for taking "baby bites" of everything (he also says that is why I take so long eating dinner, I stand by the resolution I eat dinner slower to savor every morsel"). Moral of the story, use your best judgement. Once the potatoes are cubed, add them to a pot covering with water and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, you will want to reduce the heat and continue to cook.
Once the potatoes are almost done, add some egg noodles.
(Some, I know, again, use your best judgement!)
I think this is another preference thing, do you want more noodles to potatoes, more potatoes to noodles, or an equal part potatoes to noodles?
While the potatoes (and optional noodles) are cooking, cut several slices of bacon into 1" pieces and fry until crisp. We both used our air fryers to fry the bacon. I had meal prepped bacon as breakfast for the week, so mine was already cooked. I cut into 1" pieces, and my aunts cut their uncooked bacon into 1" pieces and air fried them a la minute.
I warmed up my bacon in a small pan to cook off some extra bacon fat and to crisp up.
While that is going, it is time to chop up your onions. I had some diced onion that I chopped up a bit smaller, heeding my aunts warning of the creepy gross terrifying floating onion monsters.
Once chopped, your bacon should be crisp enough to remove from the pan I let mine sit on a paper towel to drain excess grease.
The onion is ready to bring on the bacon, to be sweated and cooked down in the remnant bacon flavoring in the pan. (Yes, the bacon fat, but flavoring sounds so much more delicious). Saute the onion until tender.
By now the potatoes and noodles should be done. Check them for the noodles to be al dente and the potatoes to be tender.
Once they are done, you have a few options, yet again. If there is excess water (as there was for mine) you can either drain the water off the potatoes and add the milk, or you can add milk to the water, which I hear from personal account this is NOT tasty as the milk gets watered down. My aunts experienced lack of excess water because their homemade noodles soaked them up. They also used canned evaporated milk instead of regular milk and planned on diluting it some.
After adding the milk, you will want to bring up to temperature, during which time you can season to taste. I found, personally, that the soup needed a hefty amount of salt and a mound of black pepper (but I like a little spice and heat). Once it is seasoned, and just before serving, add the bacon pieces to the soup.
Now it is time to serve up and enjoy!
A few lessons learned. My aunts's kitchen has much better natural lighting for photos! Once I tasted the soup (before seasoning to taste) I saw how my aunt disliked the dish. There was an odd sweet taste from the onions, almost caramelized, but it wasn't as savory as I anticipated. Once I balanced the sweetness with salt and pepper, it became a lot more desirable. One doesn't always need precise ingredients in a recipe. As my Auntie M. calls it, "jazz cooking" is cooking off the cuff, moving away from strict measurements and using your instincts (and as always, listening to your ancestors) in the kitchen. I wanted to create this soup as close to my great-grandmother and 2x-great grandmother as possible, but just as you can never make your mom's recipe exactly the same, I don't believe any recipe will be an identical replica of its prior self. So instead, we had fun, made some tweaks, and I am pleased to say, came up with a deliciously comforting and delectable soup that was so scrumptious, my aunt (who initially feared making this recipe) even stated she was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it turned out. She even said "I would cook this again." I was happy and also delighted to be enjoying some time with my amazing aunts regardless of the chaos outside.
We continued our video call while discussing how we are coping with choosing to stay indoors and limit outside / crowd exposure, sharing stories of isolation, the fun we find at home, and the small blessings that we appreciate more each day. We also discussed books, and of course more recipes, while enjoying dinner, eventually calling it a night and "signed off" from the digital meet-up. I am so happy that we decided to not cancel due to the Covid-19 situation. I had such a fun time. Although, as previously mentioned, it doesn't compare to the shared energy and feeling one gets when cooking together, I appreciate being in a technology age where interactions like this is possible. Until next time, bądź bezpieczny i ciesz się każdym błogosławieństwem w życiu, miłości i przyjaźni!
NEXT EPISODE / CHAPTER - SPANISH DELIGHT
The day after our first virtual cooking experience, I received a text message from my aunt asking if our next escapade could be "Spanish Delight." I was excited that the virtual Potato Soup adventure was successful enough to want to virtually cook together again, and also elated that the irony that we find ourselves planning to make "Spanish Delight" in May. Although I know the recipe will be FAR from "traditional" Spanish cuisine, I said it would be perfect for a Polish Cinco de Mayo! Stay tuned!
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ORIGINAL FAMILY RECIPE:
POTATO SOUP
You will need:
Potatoes
1 onion
Several slices of bacon
Some Egg Noodles
Milk
Salt and Pepper
Peel your potatoes and cut into bite size cubes. Put the cubed potatoes into a pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and continue boiling. When the potatoes are almost done add some egg noodles (the egg noodles are optional).
Cut several slices of bacon in 1 inch pieces, fry until crisp. Remove the bacon from grease to drain. Add a chopped onion to the bacon grease and saute until the onion is tender.
By now the potatoes and noodles should be done. Add as much milk as you want soup. Add salt and pepper and the onion with a small amount of the grease. Heat until serving temperature. Add the bacon pieces just before serving.
