Old-fashioned soup: A comfort food that is always welcome MANY OF us have drifted away from making our own soup because of the conve- nience of opening acan. inquisitive "ANNE SUE GARDINER - But it’s hard to dispute that ac- companied by. a baguette and salad,.a bowl of homemade soup makes a superb, simple dinner. If one were to take a poil of the popularity of ' old-fashioned soups, cream of tomato must rank near the top. But it’s best when iomatoes are ripe and full of fla- vor. _: At this: time of year,. you can- usually buy a quart basket of fla- vor-packed tomatoes ai the mar- ket very cheapiy — particularly if you choose tomatoes that are so ripe, they’re on the verge of spoil- ing. ~ The old-fashioned. variety calls for a simple cream sauce thicken- ed with flour, then flavored with a puree of tomato. But ‘tomatoes add asi extra challenge because their acidity can easily cause the miik to curdle. Once separated into tiny curds, this soup definitely loses its. ap- peal! Luckily, there are several ways te avoid curdling. Af you have a choice, pick one of. the new sweet varieties of tomatoes which are less acidic and so less likely to cause curdling. WILSON Heat both the tomatoes and the milk before they’re combined. When warm, they're less likely to curdie than if one is hot and the other cold. Chances of curdling can also be reduced if you use equal amounts of tomatoes and milk. Lightly saute the tomatoes in a little but- ter with onion and perhaps garlic, basil, dill, thyme or freshly ground pepper. Then whirl the spiced tomatoes in a blender or rub through a strainer. Add the pureed tomato mixture gradually to the thickened cream sauce. - There are lots of variations on this theme. Wine or chicken broth may be substituted for pact of the ‘tiquid - And some recipes call for heavy cream added at the last minute to a thickened or reduced tomato puree. In this case, cream is less tikely to curdle than milk, since its fat globules are interspersed among the protein, protecting it from curdling. Fresh cream or milk is also more stable than old cream or milk and so is fess likely to sepa- rate. If you're lucky enough to have an abundance of tomatoes, preserve tomato puree in canning jars and process in a water bath. For a welcome treat during the winter, simply add milk. - You often. find a pinch of bak- ing soda included in old recipes for tomato soup. The theory was that baking soda, which is alkaline, offsets the acidity of the tomatoes. This is ne longer advised since an excess can ruin flavor and con- tributes to the destruction of vitamins. Combining the tomato with the milk or cream just before serving minimizes exposure of milk to acid, ceducing the chance of _curdling. Heat just to serving temperature and don't hold. Serve immediate- ly. Ou a cool fall day this is coim- fart food that’s atways welcome. That's if you did a good job of combatting the curds. rs | utrition - hit or myth? IS IT true that‘ “cholestrol- free’ foods are always a - healthier choice? That low-fat “fouds take the fun out of cating? ‘And ‘that breakfast ce. reals are just for kids? Actually they're all nutrition myths — misconceptions many people uelieve to be true. How ‘does your nutrition knowledge rate? Try our simple quiz and see if you know the facts! Anawer the following questions true or false: 1) Cooked o2tmeal is the best way to get a high-iibre start ro your day. False. For a good fibre breakfast, choose cereals that provide at feast 4 grams of fibre per serving. Cooked oatmeal is a nutritious breakfast Dut you'll only get about 2 grams of fibre in a % cup (200 mL) portion. If you're not a cereal eater, select whole grain bread, muffins and fruit instead, 2) Great-tasting foods like lasagna and cheesecake are too high in fat to be healthy. False. You can adapt tradi- tional, rich lasagna recipes by using partially skimmed moz- zarella cheese, substituting cat- tage cheese for ricotta, and in- cluding vegetables or ground turkey or chicken instead of red meat. You can also make a fabu- lous cheesecake with lower-fat cheeses rather than the usual cream Cheese. 3) You can make a healthier sandwich on a bagel than on a croissant. True. Ail sandwiches are not created equal! A croissant con- tains considerably more fat and calories than a bagel. Other healthy sandwich holders in- ciude whole wheat or rye bread. kaiser and cnion buns, and pita bread. NEWS photo Cindy Goodman ELIMINATE SALT aitogether by using whife wine and iemon juice with poached trout recipe. Full metal Fiavors can go missing in microwave dishes, but the metal box works wonders with others YES, i do have a micro- wave. No, { do not use mine much more than the average microwave owner. I defrost, melt and heat in mine most of the time. When this oven was invented in 1946 it was rightly predicted that it would change the cooking habits of the nation. However, almost 50 years later North Americans are still a bit reluctant to cook full meais in these metal boxes, due to a simple lack of flavor. This is understandable, because flavors take time to develop. Meat that is not properly browned has very little flavor, and the same problem eccurs when a casserole is not colored on the top. Siili, the microwave can be a blessing if we use it on the dishes it does weil. The microwave will de a good job on some vegetables and is fine for cooking certain egg dishes. Fish can be poached in nothing fiat. If you are not using your imi- crowave I suggest you look at one of two books, perhaps both. Betty Crocker’s Microwave Cookbook (Prentice Hall, 1990) is helpful, though the author implies everything is going to taste great. it will not. Let’s Cook Microwave, by Bar- bara Harris (B. Harris, 1987) is a tad more realistic. SIME BELPFUL MICRGWAVE RULES: — Cut food into. equal-sized pieces. They will cook more uniformly. — xeduce the quantity of liquid called for in the recipe; the liquid is not going ta cook long enough to evaporate. — Use a lower power setting for delicate faods such as fish. — Volume is important. If you double the volume on a recipe you must double the time. You might want 12 cook the dish in a con- ventional manner. — Arrange the focd in a circular pattern when pessible; the food Jeti Smith HE FRUGAL GOURMET near the outside of a rounded dish will cook more quickly than the mass in the centre. — Stir foods that are liquid, or close to liquid, once or twice dur- ing the ‘cooking. This will help even out the temperature of the dish. — Cover the food with plastic wrap to keep moisture in. Remember that a microwave primarily steams your food. Poke a small hole in the plastic to allow some of the steam to escape. — Children should not be taught to use a microwave until they are capable of using normal ovens and stove tops in your kitchen. While the container from a mi- crowave may not be hoi, the con- tents are very hot. Children weed to respect the dangers of microwave cooking because it is somewhat confusing to a young person. - CRUSTLESS QUICHE (Serves 4 to 6) This is very simple and quite delicious, You can vary the vegetables, of course, but when using frozen vegetables be sure they are melted before use. Y% pound Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated 5 eggs ¥%2 pound cottage cheese Ys cup all-purpose flour eas 4 teaspoon salt VY teaspocn baking powder Y cup butter, meited V2 10-ounce package frozen peas . and carrots 3 scallions, chopped Grate the cheese and whip ‘the eggs in a mixing bow] until fluffy. Stir in the cottage cheese and half the Monterey Jack cheese. Mix the flour, sait and baking powder together and siir into the egg and cheese mixture. Stir in the melted butter. Add the vegetaoles and top with the remaining Monterey Jack cheese and scallions. Place ina greased deep-dish pie plate and microwave at 9 for 15° - minutes, turn “one-quarter turn, then cook at 5 for 5 minutes. Be sure to cover the quiche with a sheet of waxed paper so the dish will not spatter. Allow to cool.a bit before serving. : POACHED TROUT IN-A BAG ’ This will work with any small . fresh fish. You are not using « great deal of oil for frying, so this is a very healthy dish. Further, since you are using white wine and lemon juice, you can eliminate salt altogether; this dish will not need it. 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 fresh trout (about 6 to 8 ounces) i tablespoon chopred parsley Y2 teaspoon dried dilweed, whole’ 2 tablespoons dry white wine 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lewon juice Freshly ground biack pepper to taste Brush a bit of clive oil on the trout. Sprinkle the semaining in- gredients on the trout and piace in a plastic cooking bag. Be sure to poke hole in the bag. Cook at 5 for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once during the cooking. Let stand a few minutes before removing from bag. SOLE AS A PIE (Serves 4 as a fish course) This dish has a bright Italian flavor. ‘The fish is not overcooked because we prepare it so quickly in the microwave, See Shirred page 82