Soup Contest: Cast Your Vote (or don't complain)

CORN AND SAUSAGE CHOWDER 

1 lb. of your favorite local, smoked, fully cooked, sausage-- sliced

3 C frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed

1 carrot peeled & sliced thin

1 stalk celery sliced thin (ours was fresh from the garden)

2 cans golden corn soup OR 2 cans creamed style corn

2 1/2 C chicken stock, preferably homemade

Combine sausage, hash browns, carrot, and celery in slow cooker. Combine soup, or corn, and chicken stock in a bowl; Pour over contents of slow cooker. Cover and cook 8-10 hours on low, or 4-5 hours on high.

~~

Photographs tomorrow. 

This is the third entrant in our Fall/Winter Soup Contest. We served it with some baked rolls, and ate it in front of a nice hot fire while we watched a new episode of Modern Family, and Rocky grow right before our eyes.

I liked it a lot. We had the creamed style corn version because neither the Piglet nor the Hog had golden corn soup. It wasn't as thick as I was expecting, but it did have a nice rich texture. I think it will be a soup, like Across the Garden Soup, that will age well-- that is, I think tomorrow's lunch might be better than tonight's supper. I'm not saying that supper wasn't excellent, but I cannot in good conscience cast a "best" vote for Corn and Sausage Chowder. My money's still on the potato wiener soup. 

Mr. Big Food has not yet voted. (This is a disturbing trend in Mr. Big Food's thought. Not casting a ballot means you cannot rightfully complain about the outcome of the election contest.) I expect he'll sleep on it and let me know tomorrow.

~~

Posts on soup contest entrant #1, Beer Cheese Broccoli Soup here, and here

Posts on soup contest entrant #2, Slow Cooker Potato Cheese Soup with Wieners here, and here.

Crappy old stuff: The Meal Planner's Creed

A dear old friend once commented that we "have a lot of crappy old stuff." True. Our Big Life is filled with crappy old stuff-- especially books. From one old cookbook:

The Meal Planner's Creed from The Modern Family Cookbook by Meta Given 

(J. G. Ferguson Publishing Company, Chicago. 1958. p2)

Question. Why do authors continue to include the word "modern" in book titles-- especially cookbooks, books on decorating, fashion, and so forth? I know here "modern" modifies "family" but what family isn't modern? Oh. Those that have a lot of crappy old stuff.

So there's no need to click to enlarge:

The Meal Planner's Creed

The health of my family is in my care, therefore--
I will spare no effort in planning the right kinds of food in the right amounts.


Spending the food dollar for maximum value is my job, therefore--
I will choose from variously priced foods to save money without sacrificing health.


My family's enjoyment of food is my responsibility, therefore--
I will increase their pleasure by planning for variety, for flavorful dishes, for attractive color, for appetizing combinations.


My family's health, security, and pleasure depend on my skill in planning meals, therefore--
I will treat my job with the respect that is due it.

The first thing I wonder is, why a creed? The Modern Family Cookbook also has creeds for Shoppers and Cooks. What is a creed? According to Webster's New School and Office Dictionary (1962), a creed is a "brief statement of belief."

ASIDE: I have several old dictionaries-- I think if you're going to wonder what I'm wondering, you should make some effort to be in the same time frame. I should have referred to a dictionary older than 1958, but unfortunately, my dictionary collection has gaps. I'll look for a crappy old dictionary from the '40s and '50s next time I'm out. Note that this is not the #1 definition given at dictionary.com. It is decidedly different.

A meal planner believes four things about herself. (I'll not go PC here. It was 1958. Women did the meal planning. End of story.) She believes she is responsible for her family's health, her portion of the family budget, her family's food experiences, and their security and pleasure! That is a lot of responsibility. But it's her job and she's going to respect it. And what's more, when she finishes planning and shopping and gets down to the business of cooking, she's going to

... take pride in doing an outstanding job of cooking.

(My emphasis.)

IMHO, the our county and culture would be a lot better off if we had more "modern" families.*