Tuesday, December 2, 2008

CAMPBELL'S SOUP STEP ASIDE......SUE MADE SCOTCH BROTH!


I was blessed in life with two talents.....Worthless talents, but talents none the less....I can match colors expertly and I can re-produce anything I taste.....I could have been the person that came up with that cookbook that copies all restaurant food and been a Millionaire right now but I missed the boat. This comes in handy when dealing with the Boss because he loves to eat and is usually impressed with my food and he dabbles in Military Miniatures (WWII crap) and every now and then he needs to do touch up work and he's always amazed that I can match the paint color perfectly.....Anyhoo, back to the soup of the day.....

Growing up in Jersey I was a huge fan of Campbell's Scotch Broth soup...It was so thick and hearty, you had to spoon it out of the can because it was so thick and the Mom never added a whole can of water.....maybe 1/4 can...And I got the whole can!! As I've said in a previous post I would eat this with a cream cheese and jelly sandwich....Great taste combo....A number of years ago Campbell's, in what I guess was a cost cutting move, diluted the soup to a watery consistency with very little "stuff" in it. It was poison.....Shortly after.... it was off the market. So last week when I made my Mushroom Barley soup it tasted pretty similar so I thought I would tweak the recipe and go for the good stuff.....I started late last night. I found some cheapy lamb chops (not the good ones) at Publix for only $3.10 for 2 chops. I knew they would need to cook long to be tender......I also knew that the barley needed to sit in the broth to soak up the flavors...This was not going to be a quick cooking process....That's okay, I have all the time in the world.....What to do??? I got out my favorite cooking implement of all time....THE CROCK POT!!! I use the crock pot 3 or 4 times a week ever since I almost burnt down the house back in 1993, I've discussed this event a few months ago and it's too stupid to repeat the story.....I put all the ingredients in the pot, plugged it in and went to bed.....Pretty easy huh? This is how I made it and I have to admit that it is spot on....In fact I think it may be slightly better. If you ever had this soup as a kid you must try this, on a cold day it will hit the spot!!

I sauteed' in olive oil 2 small onions that I diced along with 4 stalks of celery and about 3 carrots peeled and diced small.....The secret ingredient was then added to the mix.....the infamous Rutabaga...I used about 1/2 cup also diced very small. Some salt and fresh ground pepper was added along with about 8 stalks of fresh Thyme.....I never cooked with Thyme before, I'm hesitant to buy fresh herbs because they go bad so quick.....not Thyme....it stays good forever, great stuff and adds great flavor....To all this I added 5 cups of chicken broth. No Martha, I didn't make my own, I'm not that ambitious...In to the crock pot....I lightly browned the lamb chops then threw those in. I then cooked up 1 cup of Barley in 4 cups of water. I covered the pot and reduced the temperature after it started to boil....It cooked for about 30 minutes, stirring often....After draining the Barley it too went into the pot....Lid on, heat on low and off to bed.....

Only bad thing....about four o'clock in the morning I was woken up by either the smell of the soup or the husbands snoring....Whatever, I couldn't fall back to sleep....I got up and tasted the broth....being half asleep I burnt my tongue and the wooden spoon flew out of my hand....Boo opened one eye and looked at me like "Lady, would you go the hell back to bed, your disturbing me." But I was excited, the taste was just as I remembered. I lowered the temperature to "warm" and went back to bed serenaded by a buzz saw.. This morning it was perfection, the barley was all plumped up, the veggies cooked but still intact and the lamb came super tender.........I broke it up with a fork and popped it back into the soup....I let it cool to skim off any excess fat and there is enough to enjoy for days..... I did add a splash of lemon juice because the Boss loves lemon juice in everything and it does kick things up a bit.............I have to say that I think the crock pot was one of the best inventions of the 20th. century....You could spend $7.99 or $179.99 and they all work the same, you could cook roof shingles in it and it would come out like filet mignon....and there's no fear of burning down your house by leaving something cooking on the stove.....Ofcourse, you could have an electrical short in the cord...but hey, as long as it's not my fault!

16 comments:

Country Girl said...

I think that even I could make this. Sounds awesome. And I love your secret ingredient!

Neabear said...

Fun post to read. Enjoy your soup!

Salmagundi said...

I love your cooking posts! They almost (I said almost!!!) make me want to cook. I'm not that fond of being in the kitchen, but your food sounds so good. Sally

Linda Lou said...

Hi Sue - thanks for stopping by my blog-its great to meet a fellow Italian from back East I loved Scotch Broth as a kid too-I will be looking through your whole blog now!! Linda Lou!!

Anonymous said...

I have never tried this but it sounds so good. I love to use the crock pot and you should start you own recipe book and sell it. I wish I had that talent. There are so many recipes I would like to try.

Linda O'Neill said...

Hey those are NOT worthless talents! Your soup looks yummy...wish I could sit down and share a big bowl with you.:)

Anonymous said...

the original Campbells scotch broth was my favourite also. not all stores kept scotch broth. there were 2 different sets of soup. the store had to keep the more expensive range to have the scotch. the reason it disapeared was mad cow disease because it was made with beef. someone - maybe a competitor company??- started a rumour that reached even Australia. story was that they used some mad cows making their soup... specifically scotch broth. sales plumeted, stores refused to stock it, and the company withdrew it from the range... I will be making your soup.... the secret ingredient will be the problem, i don't know where I will get it in Australia.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to try it out, that was my favourite soup as a kid!

Aitken Drum said...

I am also from NJ--Trenton--and I too loved Campbell's Scotch Broth. In fact, as a child I asked my mother if I could have it for breakfast instead of cereal. She asked Dr. Purcell if it would be okay and he told her that Scotch Broth would be a great breakfast. In recent years it's been hard to get Campbell's Scotch Broth and, if you could get it, it wasn't what it once was. I'm not sure you can get it at all now since Campbell's has discontinued its Canadian operation and that's where the Scotch Broth came from in recent years. (It also became way overpriced.) I shall let you know how my sally into Scotch Broth making works out.

Aitken Drum said...

The only problem with your recipe is you are a good cook. You are not using exact amounts--"2 small onions, 3 carrots, 4 stalks of celery" isn't exact. You will end up with slightly different results each time, as a great cook will. However, commercial cookery, such as Campbell's is based on exactitude of measurement, If you want a perfect replica of a Campbell's product, you will need to state ingredients in cups and ounces (or gallons and barrels).

Aitken Drum said...

Better than Campbell's, particularly after refrigerating overnight. Initially, the thyme was a bit strong, but mellowed out in the fridge. Your Scotch Broth is superb. Your recipe isn't exact in cups, teaspoons, ounces etc.. There's always a little desirable variation that comes with inexactitude. That's what makes home cooking great. I disagree that the rutabaga makes the difference. It's the thyme. I used a purple top turnip in place of rutabaga and it still came out perfect. Yum!

Sue said...

Thank you Aiken for trying my soup and actually having it come out good....I'm very pleased...But then again people from Jersey know what good food is....
But did you make it in a crock pot....I think that eliminates having to put it in the fridge overnight to gets those flavors to heighten.....In any case I am glad you were successful in making it....I hope you enjoyed it as much as when you were a kid....I also have a fabulous recipe for short rib/barley soup...it's somewhere on my blog if you would like to hunt for it....It is worth it...

hortensia anderson said...

Csmpbell's Scotch Broth is available in Canada. BTW, all of the Campbell's soups suck. They used to cut the veggies into tiny pieces for kids to eat them. Now, with "chunky" being the big thing, all the veggies are enormous. I happen to like a thick soup with tiny veggies. How lazy can you get?! Also, the cream of mushroom is horrible with very few mushrooms - cream of what? Thanks for the recipe. Your skill is wonderful and I'm sure you can write another book - I read this recipe!!!

hortensia anderson said...

cuo

hortensia anderson said...

fdeserved

hortensia anderson said...
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