DURING THE ’90s I ex- pect to see the North Amer- ican household return to the enjoyment of soup. THE FRUGAL GOURMET I say ‘‘return’’ because a gener- ation ago soup was an expected part of the meal. Now we claim we don’t have time to make such a treasure, and | think that’s a shame. We bring back the soup pot with relish — and for two reasons. First, soup is delicious, abso- lutely grand, when made from the beginning. Second, soup is frugal because nothing is wasted. We are proba- dly going to learn a great deal about “‘waste not, want not” dur- ing the ’90s. . IT remember my mother making vegetable soup. As my interest in cooking grew 1] began to pay at- tention to what she put in the pot. I finally realized what she was serving was ‘“‘Synopsis Soup,” a brief synopsis of the past week. ~ Nothing was wasted, nor was it a leftover for long. Eventually, it wound up in the soup pot. . U still love that kind of thing and the thicker the better. I love soups so thick you have to push on the spoon to get it to sink! Now, let’s get out the soup pot and get frugal. COLD ZUCCHINI SOUP (serves 4) Cold soups are great for the frugal family in our time. This is easy to make and keeps for a few days in the refrigerator. Your kids Bewitche EnquUuisitive Gook ANNE GARDINER . ring back the soup pot % Le NEWS photo Mike Wakeileid SOUP IS frugal because nothing is wasted. We are probably going to learn a great deal about “‘waste not, want not'’ during the ‘90s. and friends will be surprised at how they enjoy cold soup. 1% pounds greea zucchini, trim- med and sliced Ya cup peeled and chopped yellow onion 3 ceps chicken stock (recipe below), or use canned Y% cup yogurt % cup sour cream Ya teaspoon grated fresh ginger Salt and freshly ground white pepper te tasie GARNISH Chopped scallions Place the sliced zucchini in a 4-quart pot along with the onion and stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving the stock. Puree the zucchini and onion, bui_ do no: let them get too mushy. Return to the pot along with the reserved stock. Stir in the yogurt and sour cream until! smooth. Add the ginger and salt and white pepper. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, about 6 to 8 hours. Garnish with scailions. CHICKEN STOCK This is so easy to make and it freezes well, though the fresh ver- sion is always the best, of course. This stock should become basic in your frugal kitchen, and when you have some in storage you will be amazed at the clever ways you think of to make good soep from some strange leftovers. But you have got to have the stock. 3 pounds chicken necks and backs. (Buy in bulk at the super- market; they are cheaper that way. But be sure they smell fresh.) 4 stalks celery, chopped into large pieces ‘ . 6 carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces 2 large yellow onions, pezled and chopped into large pieces Sait and freshly grovad black Pepper to taste Rinse the chicken parts in hot water from the tap, then drain them for a moment. In a large pot, place the chicken necks and backs in cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Add the celery, carrots and onions, Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat and sim- mer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Strain and refrigerate. CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP (serve 8 to 10) This is a classic opener for a dinner party. Made ahead, it im- proves in flavor, but be careful when heating it before dinner — you do not want to burn it or curdlz it, Just be gentle with low heat. 1 ounce dricd mushrooms (Italian porcini or the Sonth American variety, which cost much fess) 2 quarts chicken stock {recipe above}, or use canned ¥% eur butter Ye cup ail-purpose flour Y: cup dry white wine 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic, peeied and crushed 1 pound fresh musnreoms, sliced 1 cup heavy cream , V2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons dry sherry Sait and freshly grownd pepper to taste black GARNISH Fresh chopped chives Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and add 1 cup hot water. Allow to soak for 45 minutes. Bring the stock to a simmer in 2 4-quart pot. In a smail frying pan melt the butter. Add the flour to the butter and cook iogether 19 form a roux, but do not brown, Using a wire whisk, whisk the roux into the hot stock. Continue whisking until smooth and lump- free. Stir the wine into the pot, cover and simmer gently. Heat a large frying pan and add the oil and garlic and saute a few seconds (be careful not to burn the garlic). Add the fresh mushrooms and saute until just tender. Strain the liquid from the dried mushrooms into the thickened stock. Chop the soaked mushrooms coarsely and add 19 the frying pan. Saute a few minutes more. Add the contents of the frying pan to the pot along with the cream and the Worcestershire szuce. Simmer for 5 minutes more, Add the sherry, salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chives. MUSTARD GREENS SOUP 2 quarts chicken sfack (recipe above), or use canned Y cup dry white wine 3 tablespoons olive oi! 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 cup peeicd and thinly sliced yellow onion 1% bunches mustard greens. washed and chopped 2 eggs, beaten Sait pepper to taste In a 4-quart pot, bring the stock and wine to a simmer. Heat a large frying pan and add 2 ta- blespoons of the oil, the garlic and the onion. Saute until the onion becomes just tender and add to the pot. Heat the frying pan again and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Saute the mustard greens a few minutes until they collapse. Add to the pot. Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until the mustard greens and onion are tender. Pour the beaten eggs slowly over the top of the soup and gent- ly stir in. Salt and pepper to taste. : Rye suspected culprit in Salem trials HERE’S A tale for Hallow- een that recasts one of the most famous episodes of Old World witchcraft in North American history — the trials of the witches of Salem, Massachusetts. It shows what can happen wher a researcher looks seriously at a historical puzzle. Never mind that these incidents happened long ago, the solution recentiy advanced is both fascinating and credible. And it unravels a tangled web of food and witchcraft and reweaves their pattern. A. short: synopsis of the facts shows that, in) fate Decentber 1691, cight girls including the niece and daughter of the village minister fell db with ‘‘distempers."* They seemed to involuntarily assuine odd postures and gestures, Their speech was strange. They experienced convulsive fits. No reasons could be found to explain their bizarre symptoms. It was Sinally decjded that they were hewitched. Those thought to be responsible for causing such strange behavior were convicted of witchcraft on controversial evidence offered by the afflicted girls. Several villagers appeared a5 an apparition to some of the girls. Others were convicted by the test of touch, meaning a convulsive fit stopped after being touched by the accused witch, Between early June and fate falt 1692, 20 men and women were exevuted as witches. Two more died in prison. Some ef the con- dvemned exhibited symptoms simi- lar to their accusers. Documents surrounding the trials of the wuches of Salem were investizated by a researcher in psychology, Linada Caporaecl, at the University of California in 1976. Caporae! examined details about growing conditions of village crops, the timing of events in Salem and the symptoms of the accusers, to build a compelling case that accusations of witchcraft were unfounded. Instead, the cumulative effect of eating rye bread contaniinated with a parasitic grain fungus was responsible for symptoms of the possessed girls. Rye grain is especially suscepti- ble to contamination. The actual culprit, is the substance ergot, which contains several potent pharmacologic agents. Among them is a compound transformed during baking into lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. Therein lies a likely expla- nation for the hallucinations described by the victims, Alb the symptoms of convuls ergotisor suctaced ig dhe trial crawling sensilions in the skin, choking, vertigo, headaches, con- vulsions and various mentai disturbances. Ergot infestation rises in rye grain during a warm, damp grow- ing scason. The girls lived on or visited local farms, and the condi- tions of the summer of 1691 were right. Wild rye growing throughout the Atlantic Coast provided a like- ly source for carrying the infec. tion, as colonists reported that caitle grazing on wild grasses were often ill. And the abrupt end of accusa- tions of witcheraft suggests removal of a physical ec?