{"id":24159,"date":"2018-01-31T11:23:20","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T16:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=24159"},"modified":"2018-01-31T11:23:25","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T16:23:25","slug":"on-your-table-groundhog-day-leaves-us-between-seasons-a-great-time-for-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=24159","title":{"rendered":"On Your Table: Groundhog Day leaves us between seasons \u2013 a great time for soup"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Branciaroli,<\/strong>\u00a0Food Correspondent, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Versatile soups such as Vietnamese Pho bridge the gap between winter and spring.<\/p><\/div>\n

Well, will he or won\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m referring of course to whether Punxsutawney Phil will pop back into his burrow after seeing his shadow.\u00a0 This is considered to be a predictor that spring isn\u2019t coming soon.\u00a0 Or, if he enjoys a cloudy day we can hope for its arrival shortly. And he\u2019s not a bad prognosticator, as his predictions have been correct 40% of the time.\u00a0 While this event is widely anticipated across America, its origins go back to the German feast of Candlemas which is celebrated on February 2nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 And of course who can\u2019t forget the 1993 movie with Bill Murray where a cynical weatherman finds himself in a time warp and experiences the day over and over until he softens his attitude.<\/p>\n

So as we hope that Phil won\u2019t see his shadow and that spring is coming soon, my thoughts turn to light spring dishes.\u00a0 Soup is one of my favorite foods and I love making different varieties all year long, no matter whether it\u2019s freezing cold or blistering hot outside. Most of us think of soup as a warming fall or winter choice.\u00a0 But spring soups are some of my favorites, because they allow us to focus on some of our most loved produce, particularly early spring vegetables.<\/p>\n

The best spring soups bridge the gap between the seasons. These soups can be served either hot or cold, some are chunky and some are pur\u00e9ed glassy smooth.\u00a0 In any case, they signal it\u2019s time to say goodbye to the stick-to-your-ribs, hearty root vegetable pur\u00e9es of winter, and are saying hello to lighter, spring dishes. \u00a0Think creamy carrot soup, asparagus chowder or puree of peas.<\/p>\n

Vietnamese Pho straddles that line.\u00a0\u00a0 Its fragrant, faintly sweet flavor not only can take you through a cold winter but right into spring with its fresh ingredients keeping us cozy as we wait for warmer weather.\u00a0 Did I also say quick to prepare and versatile?\u00a0 It can be made with beef, chicken or seafood, or those can be omitted and then it is vegetarian or vegan.\u00a0 Plus the spice level can be set through the roof if that\u2019s your passion.\u00a0 Must have ingredients: bean sprouts, basil and cilantro, chili sauces, and fish sauce.\u00a0 These balance the meatiness of the broth with heat, acidity and freshness.<\/p>\n

Vietnamese Pho Soup<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vietnamese Pho Soup is simple and easy to make and can be customized to your likings, in that it can be vegan, spicy or just delicious.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/u><\/p>\n

3\/4 lb thinly sliced flank steak cut across the grain<\/p>\n

14-16 oz rice noodles, dried or fresh<\/p>\n

1 medium onion, chopped<\/p>\n

1 tbsp each ginger and garlic<\/p>\n

Handful of oriental basil leaves (try Thai basil)<\/p>\n

2 tsp canola oil<\/p>\n

Kosher salt and pepper<\/p>\n

60 oz chicken or beef stock<\/p>\n

2 tbsp fish sauce<\/p>\n

1 tbsp sesame oil<\/p>\n

1 cup fresh bean sprouts<\/p>\n

4 scallions, sliced diagonally<\/p>\n

2 jalapeno peppers seeds and veins removed<\/p>\n

Hoisin sauce<\/p>\n

Sriracha sauce to your taste<\/p>\n

Lime wedges<\/p>\n

1\/3 cup cilantro leaves or to taste<\/p>\n

Preparation:<\/u><\/p>\n

In a large pot add oil and saut\u00e9 onion, ginger and garlic for 3-5 minutes.\u00a0 Add broth.\u00a0\u00a0 Bring broth to a boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes.\u00a0\u00a0 Add the fish sauce and sesame oli along with the noodles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If using dried noodles, cover with hot tap water and soak for 10-15 minutes while the broth is simmering.\u00a0 Drain.\u00a0 If using fresh, untangle them and rinse briefly under cold running water.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Slice the beef thinly across the grain.\u00a0 Set aside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ready individual bowls by topping each with noodles and beef, arranging the beef slices flat.\u00a0 Add a bit of raw onion, scallions, bean sprouts and cilantro leaves to each bowl.\u00a0 Ladle the soup over and top of the ingredients.\u00a0 Top with sliced jalapenos and other ingredients to taste.\u00a0 Add Hoisin or Siracha to taste.\u00a0 Season with salt and pepper to taste.\u00a0 Serve immediately.\u00a0 Guests can use chopsticks and\/or spoons to enjoy.<\/p>\n

Cathy Branciaroli also writes about her adventures in the kitchen on her award-winning blog <\/em>Delaware Girl Eats<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Branciaroli,\u00a0Food Correspondent, The Times Well, will he or won\u2019t he? I\u2019m referring of course to whether Punxsutawney Phil will pop back into his burrow after seeing his shadow.\u00a0 This is considered to be a predictor that spring isn\u2019t coming soon.\u00a0 Or, if he enjoys a cloudy day we can hope for its arrival […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5737,6269,10106,10108,10107],"class_list":["post-24159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-cooking","tag-featured","tag-grundhog-day","tag-pho","tag-soup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24160,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24159\/revisions\/24160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}