ON MAKING SOUP WITHOUT A RECIPE

My friend Joan is always chiding me for my habit of cooking in large amounts -- I cook for at least 10, every time I cook, even though we are only 2, sometimes 3. She just doesn't understand it. I love to share not only what I cook, but how I cook it; the only problem is that I typically don't follow recipes, or if I do, I change at least one or two amounts/ingredients/cooking time/cooking temperature/cooking pans. (Yes, did you know that the shape of the pan, the material of the pan & the weight of the pan effects the flavor and texture of what we cook?)

So to continue telling tales out of school, my friend Joan is often frustrated with me because when I take her a pot of soup and she wants the recipe, I can never give it to her. Usually because I make soup the way they did in the old days -- with whatever I happen to have at hand -- some of this and some of that and some of the other. All that goes into the soup must be delicious or it won't work. But none the less, cooking in such a way makes it very hard to share a recipe. So last week, when I made a soup that came out absolutely superb (and it's very hard for me to praise my own cooking), I promised to remember the recipe to share, and maybe this way I can get my friend Joan to read at least one of my blogs.

I'll call this soup chicken/asparagus/eggplant soup. (Perhaps you would suggest a better name for the soup in your comments because in no way does that name convey the delicious flavor and scrumptious texture of this winter wonder.)

So what goes into this soup?

1) Homemade chicken broth or turkey broth made from the bones, skin, pan drippings of a roasted chicken or turkey ((after you've finished eating all of the roasted chicken that you care to) boiled with water and a splash of white vinegar for about an hour. Strain off the broth and let cool in the refrigerator.

2) Babaghanoush -- not store bought babaghanoush but my own special preparation for babaghanoush:
Prick 2 ripe eggplant all over (to prevent them from exploding in the oven or, worse yet, in your face!) and cook either in oven (while you're roasting a chicken), on your grill while your grilling shish-kebab, or for lack of anything better, time included, in your microwave. When soft and gushy, peel and put only the pulp of the eggplant in the Cuisinart and blend until smooth. Set aside. Now place in Cuisinart 2 lemons or 2 limes, thrown into the Cuisinart after they've been peeled and seeded, 1 clove or more fresh garlic, salt, a bit of cumin, and Aintab red pepper. Blend. Add 1/2 cup tahini (well stirred), 1/4 c. or less olive oil, and the pulp of the eggplant. Blend until smooth. Absolutely delicious, especially using baby carrots to dip! But back to the work at hand . . . When you get bored with eating the babaghanoush, you have a new use for it . . . read on!

3) Remember those tough asparagus ends that everyone leaves on their plate? Here's a trick that makes life so much more fun! Snap the tough asparagus ends off of the ends of fresh asparagus. Place them in the bottom of a deep 'frying' pan. Place the asparagus over the ends, some water in the bottom of the pan, and cook until asparagus is ready to eat. Eat the asparagus BUT save those asparagus ends and put them in the Cuisinart with whatever asparagus liquid is left, blend and save for the soup we are about to make.

Now you are ready to make the soup in three easy steps: Put the strained chicken broth in a heavy pot (I use LeCreuset); bring to a boil; add the blended asparagus and stir with wire whip; add the babaghanoush and stir with the same wire whip, season to taste, and voila -- probably one of the most delicious soups you've ever eaten awaits you!