Fresh Pea Soup.

I'd been looking for a fresh pea soup recipe after my friend Monica made it for me once. I've finally found a recipe, however I made a few alterations. Here's my version.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
4 cups chicken stock
2 10 ounce packages of frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Saute the onions in the oil. When they're soft add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the peas and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and add the mint, salt and sugar, taste and adjust seasonings as needed (you may also want to add black pepper). Puree the soup in batches. I used a magic bullet and dumped the pureed soup into a bowl as I went along. When all smooth add the yogurt and stir well.
Can be eaten hot or cold.


I like this soup, I find it to be rather refreshing and bright.

Lemon Snowball Cookies.

I made these as an accompaniment to a desert wine.

cookies
2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 cups flour

coating
2/3 cup icing sugar
3 single serve packages of crystal light lemonade

Cream butter and sugar, add flavourings, mix well.
Add flour in 2 stages, mix well.
When combined roll into 1/2 teaspoon balls.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until they are firm to the touch. The will not brown. They don't spread much.

While the first batch is baking mix the coating, then roll the hot cookies in the coating.

They are tangy cookies! Great with a desert wine that you would want to highlight, as they are not sweeter than the wine.

Dduk Soup

Dduk is pronounced duck, and is compressed rice. It's a Korean dish. The dduk is rice forced through a press and emerges from the other side like a long fat spaghetti noodle, one type is about as thick as your thumb which are cut into 3-4 in pieces used for dduk bogie which is a spicy spicy dish. The other kind of dduk is about an inch in diameter and is cut into thin slices on the bias. This type of dduk is used for the soup.

Okay here we go.
This is my version of the soup.

1/2 package of dduk
3-4 green onions, sliced
1/2 lb ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons Korean beef granules (oxo can be substituted, but it makes a darker coloured soup)
water

Start by browning the beef. I don't season it at this time. When cooked strain out fat and rinse with hot water. (I don't like to have grease floating on my soup) Return to soup pot (which should hold 2-3 litres of water), add water, about 3/4s of the way up. Add dduk, onions and soup granules, bring to a boil. When the dduk is tender, turn off the heat and add the egg, stirring to make the long egg strings. Serve. Should make 5-6 bowls.