• Blog
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Tools
  • International LOVE
  • Love Notes
  • Shop
  • Powered by MSI Media Group

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Beef Klusky Soup

March 9, 2022 by Mary 11 Comments

Memories…

Smells of home, so comforting. Remembering my mother making this Beef Klusky Soup. The scent wafting through the apartment all day the other day I made it, of the beef cooking in salted water making the broth – well I was in a little bit of heaven. Lovely childhood memories were floating back. Mom standing at the stove, in her tie-around-the waist apron with 2 pockets in front, stirring this huge aluminum pot that was her mother’s. My dad clearing his throat and then proclaiming with absolute pleasure, “Mother, delicious as always!” 

We were six kids and he often called my mother “Mother” in front of us.

I remember some grease circles moving around on the top of the soup, not really knowing what they were, but I too, loved the soup and particularly the klusky! Klusky are Polish dumplings. And, when they are made correctly, they are divine. A Mother’s hug in your mouth and tummy, so warm and nourishing.

More recent memories

I had only made this Beef Klusky Soup one other time before, when I first went away to college and wanted a little bit of home. I was with Steve (my now late husband) but we were far from being married, just starting to date.

It was terrible.

The klusky were like rocks – definitely made of cement.

Steve, who was always gentle in his criticism of my cooking, even then couldn’t hold back. 

So I never attempted to make it again, until just now.

You see, my mother grew up during the Great Depression so she was always very careful with food, never wasting any and using only just enough. She really was a master at managing money, yet feeding all of us fine food. 

Too much meat – soaking in the salted water – notice the salt rings around the meat pieces – fascinating!

But, I always thought this trait was cheap. And perhaps indicated that we didn’t have much money? (We had a perfectly fine amount of money growing up, particularly with all eight of us living at home.) So in my younger days, every recipe I made from her, I generously upped all the ingredients. Including in this soup recipe, I upped the amount of meat but I’m not sure that played out right as the soup was thicker with all that meat and it was not really needed. 

Follow Mom’s directions

What I do most definitely know, is that this time, I followed her klusky instructions to a T, using only a half of a teaspoon of raw dough to make the dumplings, rather than a tablespoon or more as I had done in the past, thinking more is better and THIS was the key! Just a tiny bit of dough plumps up into the most beautiful light dumpling – just like Mom’s! NOT like concrete.

So do play close attention to that and be sure to use a very thin edged spoon to measure them out. The thin edge allows you to take just a little bit of dough – that proper one-half teaspoon.

I did use local beef soup meat from one of the farms upstate – Fat Apple Farm on Hill Hollow Road and it was divine, so do try to find some local meat. Always. So much better for you and tastier, being grass fed.

This does take nearly a day to make with all the hours of simmering but with many of us still working from home, it’s easy as it only requires time and not much attention. I wasn’t going to write about this, but when I showed the picture to my friend Marie at lunch on Monday, she was like, “OMG, THAT looks so delicious!”

So here is the original recipe. 

While winter is still here, make this Beef Klusky Soup to soothe your soul, make your own memory and spread some LOVE… and think of my wonderful Mom.

BEEF KLUSKY SOUP – serves 6 – 8

1-3 small beef soup bones with some meat on them – or Mom said, 1 small soup bone and 2 pieces of marrow soup meat.
12 cups of cold water
½ Tbs. coarse sea salt
1 bay leaf
12 whole black peppercorns
4 tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
2 tsp. tomato paste
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
5 carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
3 ribs of celery, cut into 2” pieces 
Some celery leaves
5 sprigs of parsley

THE KLUSKY (Egg Dumplings)

¼ tsp salt – fine sea salt
½ cup milk
1 egg beaten
1¼ cups of all purpose flour

METHOD

Rinse the meat bones with cold water and place in a large soup pot with the 12 cups of cold water and ½ tablespoon of salt. Let stand for about 30 minutes to draw out the juices.

Then put on high heat and bring to a boil. Skim the surface to remove the dirty foam and simmer.

Add 1 bay leaf, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and onion and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.

Then add the carrots, fat pieces cut in half lengthwise, celery, celery leaves and parsley and let this all simmer for another 1½ hours. In the last ½ hour of cooking, add the klusky.

MAKING THE KLUSKY

Add salt and milk to the beaten egg. Stir flour in to make a smooth batter.

Bring the soup a boil and add the klusky by scooping out just ½ teaspoon of batter and then dipping the spoon in the boiling soup and the batter will fall off and make the dumpling.

Stir every once in a while. 

Let them cook for about 20 minutes or so.

Then Mom wrote:

Any questions call me. Love, Mom

(Mom passed in 1995)

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Meat, Soups Tagged With: beef, hearty soup, Klusky, Polish dumplings, soup

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach

January 19, 2022 by Mary 2 Comments

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup - served in a bowl.

I have been having a love affair with coconut milk and Thai food recently. It’s something different to make at home and I also love the usual refreshing lime squeezed on for the finishing touch. So this recipe of Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach is the perfect comfort food during these cold dark days of winter. I made this recipe last night, loosely based on the New York Times version and ate it in front of a blazing fire to calm my frazzled nerves from all of the Washington DC news of late. It worked and was so super yummy, I wanted to share it with you all right away.

This Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach recipe should feed three people with one pound of chicken. I also added a sauteed Portobello mushroom, which I know is not very Thai-like, but this mushroom in my fridge was begging to be used and I thought it was a nice combo with the spinach. Serve this soupy dish with a packed little cup of steamed Jasmine rice and ascend to heaven.

How to stretch meat to feed more people

Another deviation of mine from the New York Times version is the addition of a little Panko to the meatball mixture. It’s a trick from my mom – panko or breadcrumbs – to make them lighter and to stretch the meat a little more in her case. Remember, she was always feeding six kids, along with sometimes some stray neighborhood friends as well. If you are using 2 lbs of chicken, you could also add a raw egg for more stretchability.

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup - in skillet with spinach added.

On to the recipe, and do not forget to add your LOVE while making. We all especially need a lot more love in this world right now, with Covid, climate change, voting rights (did you know the Republicans enacted all the mail-in ballot voting rules that Trump so objected to? I just found that out tonight.)

I have never talked politics on this blog before, but the insanely false “news” told not by journalists but by the entertainers on Fox and OAN are hitting a crescendo that must be dealt with and needs to be corrected with truth – only truth. And perhaps that can happen over a warm comforting bowl of this Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach.

I have always believed that food could bring us together. Conversations over a soothing bowl of soup – who can fight over that warmth?

Let’s make it and pray.

THAI-INSPIRED CHICKEN MEATBALL SOUP with SPINACH – serves 3

1 (4-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1/2 jalapeño, split lengthwise, finely minced with seeds and membrane
1 lb. ground chicken
½ large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped, plus a few whole leaves reserved for serving
2.5 Tbs. fish sauce, divided
1.5 Tbs. panko
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 – 2 Tbs. canola oil
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup (8 oz.) full-fat coconut milk
¼  tsp. granulated sugar
1 large Portobello mushroom, sliced and sauteed with 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil and 1 Tbs. unsalted butter – Optional
2.5 oz. baby spinach
1 Tbs. lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
Steamed white or brown rice, for serving

Process

Finely mince the ginger, garlic and jalapeno together. Transfer half of this mixture to a large bowl and set the rest aside. To the large bowl, add the chicken, finely chopped cilantro, 1.5 Tbs. fish sauce, 1/2 tsp salt and 1.5 Tbs. panko. Use your hands or a fork to fully combine but do not overmix.

Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to form 2-inch meatballs. In a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat 1 Tbs. Canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning them around every 2 – 3 minutes to brown most sides until golden brown for a total of 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 

Once all the meatballs are browned and out of the pot, if the oil is burned, wipe it out and add a bit more to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the reserved ginger, garlic jalapeno minced mixture and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, sugar and the remaining 1 Tbs. fish sauce, and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and any juices from the plate, and simmer until the flavors come together and the meatballs are cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, heat the EVOO and butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When the butter stops sizzling, add the sliced Portobello mushrooms in a single layer and do not touch them for about 7 minutes. Turn them over for another 4 minutes or so and then add them to the soup.

Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the spinach and lime juice. Divide rice among bowls, then top with meatballs, broth and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and LOVE.

Enjoy!!

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Meat Tagged With: chicken, coconut milk, cold weather dinner, easy, meatballs, soup, spinach

Salmon Udon Soup

October 27, 2021 by Mary Leave a Comment

Yummy Salmon Udon Soup ready to eat!

Soup season is coming with the chillier weather on the way. I was feeling a little throaty last week and threw together this Salmon Udon Soup that was really just divine, and certainly hit the spot on what I was craving, fish and a light hot soup! 

I really needed to use up what was in my fridge and you can certainly substitute some things on your own. I have learned to not make everything such a big deal when cooking – be flexible – as you have to be in yoga.

Beautiful Maine!

In late September, I was waaaay up north in Island Falls, Maine at a yoga retreat, feeling all clean and stretched out, body wise, and clear in my head, like these beautiful falls. It is gorgeous there but the weather changes in a nanosecond. My teacher said that there is a saying in Maine that if you don’t like the weather, just wait a moment…and it is true!

Our lovely guide testing the water temperature

On our waterfall hike one day, we came across all of these different mushrooms!! I had no idea if they were edible and I was certainly not going to try them, but they are pretty!!

Yellow Mushroom 4 in Maine.












Donna Sewall Davidge runs the Sewall House yoga retreat and I highly recommend to come to this place to recharge and renew. Tune out your everyday life and center yourself with Kundalini and Hatha yoga. It is a welcome break and a chance to improve your yoga practice, commune with nature and meet some cool people. 

The Sewell House was built in 1865 by Donna’s great grandparents and kept in the Sewall family all these years. This historic home is where Teddy Roosevelt came to heal from asthma in the 1800’s. 

Donna’s cook served a delicious vegan fare, and although I had hoped to lose some weight, that did not happen. That Island Falls air made me hungry! 

Beautiful ingredients ready to make the Salmon Udon Soup.

Back to my scrumptious Salmon Udon Soup, which I’m going to make again and again in this cooler weather. Just take a look at all the beautiful ingredients! And once the chopping is done, which isn’t a lot, the whole thing comes together so quickly.

SALMON UDON SOUP – serves 4

4 ounces buckwheat udon noodles
2 Tbs. grape seed oil
3 Tbs. thinly sliced garlic
7 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (preferable homemade)
1 large tomato, diced
1 Tbs. fish sauce
1 Tbs. chile-garlic sauce – Korean Gochujang
2 tsp. hot sesame oil, or to taste
1 ¼ pounds wild salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 Swiss chard leaves, leaves and stems chopped as shown in the photo or spinach
4 shishito peppers
2/3 cup thinly sliced chives or scallions
½ cup loosely packed parsley leaves or cilantro
Lime wedges, for garnish

The Process

Cook noodles according to the package directions, drain and pat dry.

Meanwhile, heat the grape seed oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Add garlic slices and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel with a slotted spoon.

Carefully pour broth into the pan (it may spatter a little), and bring to a boil. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, shishito peppers, fish sauce, chile-garlic sauce and hot sesame oil. Cook for about 3 minutes

Stir in salmon chunks, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the salmon is nearly cooked through, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the drained noodles, Swiss chard and chives and simmer 1 minute more.

Serve in warmed bowls and top with the parsley and crispy garlic chips. Squeeze the fresh lime on top. Serve with LOVE.

Garlic chips sautéing in grapeseed oil.

Make your garlic chips this lovely golden color.


Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: easy fish dinners, fish dinners, quick fish recipes, quick fish soup, salmon, soup

Tangy Sorrel & Potato Soup with Bacon, topped with MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds

October 16, 2016 by Mary 16 Comments

MOM's Popped Lotus Seeds, Sea Salt flavor.When I first heard about MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds, somehow I didn’t think they could possibly be popped seeds from the lotus flower, but that’s exactly what they are!

The seeds are underneath the lotus flower and one has to remove a brown casing, then pop them like popcorn while seasoning them at the same time. These MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds are flavored with butter and sea salt and they are DELICIOUS!!! Better yet, they’re low in calories and high in protein. It’s a snack that’s actually ok for you! I’m taking these to the movies – way better than that chemical laden popcorn they sell.

Lotus seeds are commonly used in Chinese medications for their healing benefits. They also contain an enzyme with powerful anti-aging properties so I’m going to eat them by the handful!

The company making MOM’S Popped Lotus Seeds is a small family owned business based in Boulder, Colorado. Their founder was first introduced to the deliciousness of popped lotus seeds as a child when his mother gave them to him as an afternoon snack. In his late 20’s, he found himself fed up with foods that were either chock full of calories or healthy but barely edible. He was determined to find a balance between good-for-you snacks and addicting junk food. That journey led him right back to his childhood.

Lotus seeds are known to be effective in alleviating restlessness, due to the natural sedative and calming effects of the seeds. Having raised two boys myself, I think the founder’s mother was one smart cookie, serving these as snack to a young energetic boy, right?

Besides being a delicious snack, I found them great to replace croutons – and better for you with all of these benefits!! My garden was loaded with sorrel last weekend so I made this quick and easy Tangy Sorrel & Potato Soup with Bacon, topped with MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds and it was soooo good!! And, the popped lotus seeds are gluten free as an added bonus.

Try this, if you haven’t already eaten them all.Mom's Popped Lotus Seeds garnishing a tangy sorrel & potato with bacon soup in a white flat soup bowl.
TANGY SORREL & POTATO SOUP WITH BACON, TOPPED WITH MOM’s POPPED LOTUS SEEDS – serves 4 – 5

1Tbs. unsalted butter
2 oz. nitrate-free smoky bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
1/2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. heavy cream
1/2 lb. sorrel, stems discarded, leaves coarsely chopped.
1 cup of MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds, Sea Salt flavor

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the bacon and cook over moderately low heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sorrel. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve topped with Mom’s Popped Lotus Seeds Sea Salt flavor.
Mom's Popped Lotus Seeds sea salt flavor in a blue bowl.Pass a bowl of more MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds at the table.

The soup can be made without the sorrel and refrigerated overnight. Bring to a simmer and add the coarsely chopped sorrel just before serving.
Mom's Popped Lotus seeds finely ground with grated Parmigiano cheese for a great gluten free breading mix in a beige bowl.Zucchini slices breaded with finely ground Mom's Popped Lotus Seeds and Parmigiano cheese with a wedge of Roquefort cheese and a glass of red wine.MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds can also be ground in a mini grinder, combined with a little freshly grated Parmigiano cheese and used to coat zucchini slices for a great gluten free “breading”. Saute in olive oil, drain on paper toweling. Serve with LOVE and some Roquefort cheese during your next cocktail hour.Our 2016 Fall culinary MARY's secret ingredients subscription box open with all products visible.

There are just a few fall boxes left where you can
get your own bag of gluten free MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds!

And your purchase helps us support Feed The Children.

Filed Under: Appetizers, First Course, Products for sale, Soups Tagged With: appetizer, bacon, croutons, first course, popped lotus seeds, sorrel & potato soup with bacon, soup

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Join 32k+ followers!


Never miss out on a recipe!

Subscribe to receive new posts via email:

Mary Frances

Mary Frances

Spread love through cooking.

Summer Favorites

Easy Cheesy Sautéed Squash The Best Potato Salad Super Quick Chicken and Summer Vegetables Stir-fry Chimichurri-ed Wilted Endives with Walnuts Chilled Curried Zucchini Soup with Apple Garnish Best Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp to make now!

Categories

  • Appetizers
  • Breakfast
  • Brunch
  • Cocktails
  • Contest
  • Cookies
  • Cookware and tools
  • Desserts
  • Dinner
  • Events
  • First Course
  • Fish
  • Food Responsibility
  • Guest Post
  • Lunch
  • Meat
  • Pasta
  • Poultry
  • Products for sale
  • Salads
  • Sauces
  • Sides
  • Soups
  • Tea time
  • Travel
  • Vegetables

Pages

Blog
About
Recipes
Tips and Tools
International Love
Love Notes
Shop
Mary's secret ingredients

Blogs We Love

  • 1840 Farm
  • A Pug in the Kitchen
  • Cottage Grove House
  • Food, Photography & France
  • Food52
  • From the Bartolini Kitchens
  • Go Bake Yourself
  • Hotly Spiced
  • Jovina Cooks Italian
  • Lavender and Lime
  • Orgasmic Chef
  • Smitten Kitchen
  • Sophie's Foodie Files
  • Steven’s Wine and Food Pairings
  • That Skinny Chick Can Bake
  • The Pioneer Woman
  • The Squishy Monster
  • Tips on Food and Drinks
  • Yummy Chunklet
  • LOVE - the secret ingredient


  • GET IN TOUCH
  • E mary@lovethesecretingredient.com

· All Rights Reserved ·© 2016 Love- the secret ingredient. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | Privacy Policy Disclosure Policy Terms & Conditions