COOKING - Cheddar Cheese Soup

We had Cheddar Cheese Soup for supper last night. It was very tangy, a little spicy and delicious - which was a bit of a surprise! Isobel loved it and was impressed that Alisdair and I had made it all by ourselves and that it didn't come out of a can!

The recipe (again, from the Time Travelers curriculum) is as follows:

1-2 stalks celery, chopped thin
1 onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup half and half (we used regular 2% milk)
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded or cubed
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Paprika

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Over medium heat, saute onion and celery until tender.



Stir in flour, mustard, salt and pepper, stirring until mixed well.



Slowly add milk, whisking flour mixture in so as not to lump. Stir constantly. When milk has heated through, add in broth, continuing to stir until boiling.



Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese. Stir until cheese has melted. Do not bring to a boil! Stir in a dash of Tabasco and serve. Sprinkle each bowl with a dash of Paprika.



There was only a small amount of soup leftover, so it was decided that we would take it to Grandma and Grandpa's house today for them to be able to "taste test" it too! (Photo of finished soup at top of this post). October 21st marks Grandma and Grandpa's 49th wedding anniversary - the day they were married, there was a terrible blizzard. I'm glad there is no snow outside today! According to Alisdair's research, the proper present for the 49th year is "a luxury item." I'm not sure if a sample of Cheddar Cheese soup is a luxury or not!

Alisdair still plans to see if he can write to someone in Cheddar, England to obtain information about the area and the history of cheese making in the region. If he receives a reply from his query, we will post the information for our followers.

Our next cooking lesson will be exploring the cuisine of Spain. We will be making something called PISTO MACHEGO, which is a concoction of tomatoes, garlic, zucchini - and other ingredients. It is served warm, as a side dish, or stuffed inside empanadillas (for which the recipe is not supplied) or in sandwiches or on warm bread with basil. This could be a very interesting kitchen adventure!