January is National Soup Month. Soup makes a marvelous mouth-watering way to warm up on a chilly winter’s day. A favorite of mine is Chinese Hot and Sour Soup, which I have been making and enjoying since the mid-1970s. Here’s my only slightly updated 1975 recipe.
Cathy’s Hot-and-Sour Soup
Update of my 1975 recipe
2 T peanut oil
1 T finely minced garlic
1 T minced ginger or ginger paste
¼ lb boneless pork, cut in matchstick-sized slices
½ c coarsely chopped cabbage leaf, optional
¼ c shredded, chopped, or matchstick-sliced carrots
3 T tamari or soy sauce
1 c bamboo shoots, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
12 canned straw mushrooms
12 lily buds (golden needles) (rehydrated in boiling water, if dried)
12 tree ear fungus (wood ears, cloud ears) (rehydrated in boiling water, if dried)
4 c chicken bone broth or stock
1/3 c dry sherry (or saki)
1 c red wine vinegar
2 T cornstarch combined with ¼ c cold water
1/3 c diced fresh bean curd (tofu)
2 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green portions)
¼ lb shrimp, medium-sized (optional)
1 egg, lightly beaten, optional
1 T sesame oil
3-5 T hot chili oil, or a few dashes crushed red pepper
1 tsp ground white pepper
In 2-handled wok or large saucepan, heat peanut oil; add garlic and ginger, stirring ½ minute.
Add pork, cabbage, and carrot, cooking till the pork loses its pink color. Add tamari, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, lily buds, tree ears; stir 1 minute. Stir in broth, sherry and vinegar; then cornstarch/water mixture. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat. Add tofu, green onions and shrimp. Add the egg in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in sesame oil, hot oil, and white pepper. (Add salt and black pepper to suit your taste, if desired.) Serve with crispy fried Chinese noodles, if desired. Makes 2-3 servings.
KISS Tip: I have also made this as a Mushroom-Hot-and-Sour Soup, by omitting the pork and shrimp and quadrupling the mushrooms.
As an adult, I love the songs of the mockingbird. We have some amazingly talented ones at our home in the North Carolina mountains. They can trill on and on for up to an hour, with seemingly no repeats. (I was sorely disappointed when I returned to Lake Winnipesaukee last summer to find the mockingbirds favoring the calls of the crows and seagulls.)
As noted yesterday, I enjoy sharing recipes on my website and social media articles. In 2023, I am pleased to note that I shared 90 recipes with you. They ranged from appetizers, tapas, beverages, and brunch items to entrees, side dishes, snacks, soups, and sweets. Here is the full list of my recipes shared via my website & social media in 2023. They are all archived on this site in their respective articles.
& Super Simple Oysters Rockefeller
BEVERAGES:
BRUNCH:
Super Simple Wiener Schnitzel
VEGGIES & CHEESE:
SAUCES & CONDIMENTS:
SIDES (inc VEGGIES):
Café Martin Crème de Menthe Brownies
What fun I had writing articles, posting insightful and silly quotes, and sharing recipes with you in 2023. In total I shared 174 “Notable Quotables” from a wide array of folks, from Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan to Thomas Sowell, Kahlil Gibran, Aristotle, Voltaire, Socrates, and proverbs from many cultures. Words rang out from John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Dolly Parton, Doris Day, and Bob Hope, along with Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Amelia Earhart, and Douglas MacArthur. The lists continued with diverse thoughts shared by Andy Warhol, Ernest Hemingway, Mae West, and Martin Luther King, Jr. to Mark Twain, Norman Vincent Peale, Michael Jordan, and Auguste Rodin… to name just a few. We covered politics, war, philosophy, family, relationships, nature, wisdom, behavior, and encouragement.
While the Bloody Mary is typically consumed by mid-afternoon, enjoy one any time you like! Let our recipe get you started.
“I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”
Post that “Do Not Disturb” sign and finish doing whatever needs doing. No Interruptions Day gives us an official excuse to ignore requests that slow us down from accomplishing whatever is on our “to-do” list.
“When we seek hope, it may be best to give hope to someone else. Wrap someone in your arms, look them in the eyes, and tell them that you won’t give up.”
“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”
Mom’s Super Simple Raisin Sauce for Baked Ham
Super Simple Spiced Cranberry Raisin Chutney
“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
“The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don’t celebrate those, they can pass you by.”
“If you can cut the people off from their history, then they can be easily persuaded.”
“There can be no friendship without confidence and no confidence without integrity.”
Sir Ronald got to take both daughters to visit The Biltmore in Asheville, NC this past week. The largest single-family residence in America harkens back to a fascinating time in our history. But the gingerbread house of The Biltmore is definitely a masterpiece! Perfect for today… National Gingerbread Decorating Day!
“Character is like a tree and reputation a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
Celebrate National Lager Day with a favorite “cold one.” Or prep some recipe that lets your lager shine. I do not drink any beers, but beer, lager, wines, and other liqueurs work perfectly in various, scrumptious recipes. Here’s one of my go-to tastebud cravings, especially with warm, soft pretzels… okay, tortillas chips are great, too!
KISS Tips: These are very rich, so small pieces are super. I like to drizzle the glaze layer in fine lines, crisscrossing over the top.
“We have not forgotten, nor will we. We live in a world made more free, more just, and more peaceful by those who will answer roll call no more, those who will report for muster never again. We do remember Pearl Harbor.”
A friend of ours, is seeking help through Votes for her for the Bar Boss 2023 Bartender of the Year contest. We enjoy a great many friendships with folks who tend bar, so we are pleased to help Tami. If you care to join us, you can vote daily starting today (December 4) at 1pm EST (10am PST, through December 14 here on Facebook. To help her win the People’s Choice category and a chance for $10,000 and her picture on the cover of Bartender Magazine, please vote for Tamora Hatton: 
Let’s look ahead to tomorrow, which is National Cookie Day, launched in 1987 by Ohio’s Blue Chip Cookie Company. Everyone has a favorite cookie, and more cookies are baked in the month of December than any other! But why not prep some Crackin’ Toffee Crunch to join the party? But wait! Is it a cookie? Is it a cracker? Is it a candy? Doesn’t matter! It’s scrump-diddly-umptious!
Whip up some yummy fritters to tantalize your taste buds! “They” say that fritters have been around since the days of ancient Rome, and their popularity is even greater today.
But I made a fun twist on the stuffed pepper thinking as part of our Brunch Bites menu on Thanksgiving. Some fresh berries and chunks of fresh pineapple and a sweet roll twist on the side, made this quite a nice treat. Plus, land one or two of these beauties inside a toasty bagel or a favorite baguette or roll with your choice of spread, and you’ve got one gem of a breakfast sandwich. (Well, I’d be adding cheese and a couple slices of bacon, most assuredly.) Anyway, here’s my full recipe, which started by stuffing tomatoes, but I did the sweet bell pepper version for Turkey Day.
Skillet Stuffed Egg Rings
“Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubts; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.”
Savory, you say? Sure. Sauté up some sweet onions and sliced mushrooms. (A combo of oyster, shiitake, & cremini makes mushroom mahhhvelousness.) Season with thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Serve over your French Toast (no nutmeg or cinnamon, please, in a savory version).
