Don't throw the pa-ast away
Just prior to Christmas, I was reading an article on BlogHer about '20 food blog trends that need to die in 2015'. The writers made some good points about hackneyed trends, such as stripey straws, designerly dribbles of sauce, recipes with too many words in the title, superfoods (including 'clean' eating), misguided hyperbole (i.e. 'don't say something tastes like crack unless you are actually a recovering crack addict, otherwise you don't know what you're talking about'),'slutty' desserts, and a range of other things. Yep, Zesty Santorum (a.k.a. the writers), I hear you and, on a couple of points, I might perhaps agree.
One item I'd like to take issue with, however, is listed as 'Captain of the Obvious Recipes'. To quote the article: "Unless you write a cooking 101 blog, please resist posting recipes with your amazingly interesting new take on baked potatoes. Unless it involves roasting them on an artisanal fire tended by dyslexic gnomes, we can figure it out. We know how to make croutons. Spaghetti should be al dente. Thomas Keller has already taught us how to roast a chicken. We've got this." Okay, good for you, Zesty. I beg to differ. To my mind, there are some outstanding, basic and old fashioned recipes yet to be 'discovered' by the millions of cooks and readers around the world and, frankly, I don't see anything 'wrong' with food writers or bloggers sharing them over again. After all, everything old is eventually new again. And is it not our 'role' to inspire our readers to (a) cook and (b) try something different (whether it be old or new)? I guess I shouldn't take it upon myself to speak for the masses (of bloggers) as it were, but certainly with this little online journal, I love to share inspired recipes with my readers. If anyone has questions or needs coaching, I am accessible via my numerous social media platforms, as well as email, the comments box here, and also by phone if need be. And nothing brings me greater joy than when a friend or follower sends me a tweet/email/message telling me excitedly that they baked/prepared my version of Florentines (for example) and it was the first time they'd ever tried Florentines and the entire family loved them! As another example, a great old post-Christmas standby: pea and ham soup. Various forms of it are in my copy of Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book (first published in 1861). Indeed there are three Pea Soup recipes listed: green, yellow and inexpensive. In the The Colonial Cookbook, which is Paul Hamlyn's 1970 abridged version of the first-ever cookbook published in Australia in 1864 by Edward Abbott, there is a pea soup made with mutton bones. My 1941 edition of The Coronation Cookery Book includes 'economical pea soup' created from dried peas and modest amounts of sliced ham. In more modern times, the esteemed Stephanie Alexander uses yellow or green split peas with a smoked hock or ham in her encyclopaedic best seller The Cook's Companion, whereas Gourmet Farmer and chef, Matthew Evans, adds sliced lemons to his version, published in his Winter on the Farm. My own pea and ham soup is smoky and flavoursome. It's a recipe I've been cooking for close to four decades and over the years have added some 'secret' ingredients to give it the edge on other basic recipes. One of my favourite things is to add some Arborio rice or Risoni to the soup. More recently I've found that adding a couple of tablespoons of olive wood smoked Arborio rice provides texture, as well as a great kick of flavour. For this reason, I choose not to process or blend the soup at the end of the cooking time. I also use smoked sea salt, fresh bay leaves, swede, parsnip, baby celery and plenty of black pepper. It's good, really good. SMOKY & FLAVOURSOME PEA & HAM SOUP 500g packet of green split peas 1 large ham bone, any remaining meat trimmed and cubed 1 large brown onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 1 parsnip, diced 1 swede, diced 2 sprigs baby celery, sliced* 3 cloves 2-3 fresh bay leaves 8-10 cups water freshly cracked black pepper, to taste smoked sea salt, to taste 2 tablespoons smoked Arborio rice* croutons, for garnish (optional) Soak the split peas for several hours or overnight in a Pyrex bowl filled with water. Then drain the peas into a colander. Discard the water the peas have been soaking in. Place the peas, ham bone, cubed ham pieces, diced onion and other vegetables, together with the cloves, bay leaves and water into a Dutch oven or deep soup pot. Pop the the pot onto the stove over a medium heat and slowly bring the soup to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for one to two hours, stirring the liquid occasionally, and turning the bone to infuse the soup with its wonderful flavours. Check to ensure that the vegetables are not 'catching' on the base of the pan. If they are, lower the heat (you could use a heat diffuser at this point). Check for seasoning and then add plenty of cracked pepper and smoked sea salt, as well as the smoked Arborio rice. When the rice has softened, serve the soup in bowls and top with croutons. This quantity will serve 6-8. * Baby celery is what I call the new sprigs of home grown celery. They are so tender, they're more like parsley than celery. Use the small 'sprigs' at the heart of a celery if you don't have access to home grown. If you can't source smoked Arborio rice, try using plain Arborio and add a dash of liquid smoke!
Tell me, dear readers, what are your thoughts on old recipes being re-shared? And do you agree that everything old is eventually new again, even recipes?
29 Comments
debra
28/12/2014 07:27:19 pm
Thanks Liz, this sounds amazing and I am definitely going to try .... but I confess to my ignorance .. smoked Arborio rice? Have never seen or used before...Hints / instructions please? Deb
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Lizzy
28/12/2014 07:36:17 pm
Hi Debra, thanks so much for popping in... the smoked Arborio rice is available from gourmet delis, specialty stores and also from markets, such as the Old Bus Depot Markets in Canberra. Our rice came from Crabtree Salts, 123 Were Street, Brighton, Vic. Hope this helps. If you can't find any, use Arborio rice, but add some droplets of liquid smoke
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Deb
28/12/2014 07:39:43 pm
Thanks so much for such a quick response .... have never seen it before so will definitely be on the look out. I go Brighton way often, so I will check out your recommendation. I love pea and ham soup so really looking forward to having a go at this one. Cheers Deb 29/12/2014 08:52:24 am
I read that too and articles like that just give me the shits. Yes, food in canning jars and all tied up in baking string is a bit overdone but when it was first out, it looked new and different. People who sit in judgment about other peoples' writing should know that criticism works both ways.
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:31:54 pm
Maureen, you made me smile... lotsa love from me to you!
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What a great read... My blog is all about people making Old Fashioned recipes from scratch and I can't believe the questions they ask about food!!! There are a lot of people that just have no idea and they love they we do and can ask us questions (FOR FREE)
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:32:25 pm
Elizabeth, what you say is so true... thank you for your very kind words! Lamb ham sounds interesting!
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Lovely recipe thanks Lizzy - and it's almost soup weather here in the Adelaide Hills. Only 21 yesterday and cool & grey again this morning, but it's predicted to be 42C by Saturday, so it's just a brief episode of unseasonal weather.
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:33:07 pm
Wow, Amanda, it really has been hot there... do stay safe in the fire season my lovely friend... and how good to have a son who eats all the ham! Love it.
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29/12/2014 09:52:29 am
So yummy Liz! I usually freeze my Christmas ham bones until the colder weather to make soup, but this recipe might tempt me to make it much sooner :) How lucky I have some smoked rice in my pantry! X
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:33:31 pm
You know, that smoked rice just gives it a little something extra, Bec xo
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29/12/2014 06:30:53 pm
Haha I'm sure I've committed a few if not all of those sins. But really who sits in judgement of what is on a blog. I really care about what my readers think but as for the rest....not so much :P
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:33:55 pm
Thanks Lorraine, so true, eh!
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29/12/2014 11:24:47 pm
It's ages since I have seen smoked rice and I love it. What a great idea to use it in pea and ham soup. As long as your blog has readers I guess other people can have whatever views they like, We'll just have to ignore them right?
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:34:24 pm
True, true, Tania..... and enjoy this recipe xo
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30/12/2014 04:40:43 am
Great Liz tweaks on a traditional recipe - love it. I am too am all for posting occasionally about recipes "everyone should know about". I think it is a bit snobby to assume that we should all know about traditional recipes. Food blogging, like all blogging really, is international. What we take for granted may be completely new to our readers, especially if they are younger. I also like to read others' ideas and tweaks, like this. Have a happy new year when it comes - 11 hours earlier than us!
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:34:54 pm
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kellie, agreed. And happy new year to you also xo
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30/12/2014 08:05:28 am
Your soup looks amazing and I love the variety of vegetables. I have a ham bone in the fridge and I should make this as pea and ham soup is something everyone loves and any leftovers are easily frozen. Thanks for sharing that article and I agree with you - daily inspiration from bloggers is what keeps me cooking xx
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:35:22 pm
Me too, Charlie, though the chefs and their books do too! xo
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30/12/2014 01:42:09 pm
Dear Lizzy,
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:35:56 pm
Hi there... and happy new year to you for 2015 as well as 2016 :D Thanks for your kind words.
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30/12/2014 06:14:52 pm
I think a lot of people need the basics - I certainly did when I started cooking, My one pet peeve in the bloggersphere is 'food porn'. I would love to slay that term, as porn to me is something 'dirty'! Have a super 2015 xox
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:36:24 pm
Yep Tandy, I'm with you on that one.... happy new year to you also xo
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I read the same article and agreed with some, as well. But blogs aren't always just about the recipe - sometimes the story is more the point. I feel this way especially when I am posting one of my Mother's ,grandmother's or other ancient family recipe. Sure, maybe people know how to make them, but maybe they'd like to hear the story.
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:37:32 pm
Oh David, you make such a great point there, about old family recipes and stories! And I am tired of people being so judgemental too! Thanks for your kind words... oooooh, smoked rice in a popcorn maker? Do tell!
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I’m all about the old family recipes as you know Liz, and I also agree with a lot of the other comments that many people are really unsure about how to cook the basics so absolutely everything old is new again at some stage - just like fashion :)
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:37:57 pm
Thanks Beck for your thoughts, and your kind words too!
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5/1/2015 08:37:45 pm
I think there's definitely something to be said for old recipes - what works for one person should be shared with others!
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Lizzy
6/1/2015 05:38:15 pm
True, true, Amanda!
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Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
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