There are some key players in the Saccoman family who love soup. Let me reiterate that - LOVE soup!! Soup can be done OH SO WRONG. Even as a kid, I couldn't stomach soup out of a can. It's because my momma spoiled us with her great cooking. And my Godmother, my grandma, my Nana, the neighbors.... etc. I didn't realize it then, but boy do I appreciate it now. We had very little processed food in our house. We grew up on garden veggies and scratch made food.
My grandma, Lillian Shebly, my soulmate in life, LOVED soup. And my mom, my brother Joe, me and my brother Tony all LOVE soup. Today's blog, though, I am dedicating to the ultimate soup lover - my brother Tony!! He is the youngest of my three older brothers. Yup, I am the youngest of four and the only girl! Talk about a jackpot! They are six, eight, and ten years older than I am. Since Tony was the closest to my age, we were certainly the closest growing up.
Let me give you a brief story that sum's up my brother Tony. I was in like 3rd grade and I had the stomach flu something fierce! Oh, and it was Halloween!!!! I am 50 years old and I remember it like it was yesterday. Mom was passing out candy, dad was working. Mom set me up on the couch with broth on a t.v. tray and a throw-up bin next to the couch. I at least got the 'feel' of Halloween only a few feet from the door where all of the trick or treater's were knocking. By the end of the evening, Tony, who was in 9th grade at the time!!!, which is way past the cool kid's age of trick or treating, came home with a huge, plastic pumpkin filled with candy. He went throughout Buhl and trick or treated for me. He's the same, selfless, family first guy today. I wish he was the President of the United States. His MN accent alone would bring joy to the world. Tony was the salutatorian of his High School graduating class at Martin Hughes in Buhl, MN in 1984. At the end of his speech, he shared with his class, one last time, a phrase that he repeated over and over throughout the year - "Tony IS Great!"
Tony is a big deal! He looks out for everyone he loves. He's good. All good. And he does like his Schmidt & Clamato!
We Saccoman's kind of suffer from high self esteem. It shouldn't, however, be mistaken for ego or selfishness. Our parents raised us to be good people. They raised us with so much love and affection. We were all guided by a mom and dad that, well, like Leah Chase said, "Worked hard, prayed, and did for others." Imagine how your life would be if you said, "I'm great!" every day? It's okay, say it!
Okay, here are a few of "My Creations" soup wise! I should add that we soup lovin Saccoman's love broth-based soup! We aren't crazy for thick, cream-based soups. However, I am sharing a cauliflower soup that I made which was a bit cheesy and creamy, but I still made it thin, more broth-like, and ooofdie!!! Yummy!
My "thin" cauliflower & cheese soup. I am obsessed with using unsalted vegetable stalk with every, single soup I make. Some celery, onion, carrot, herbs, sharp cheddar and cauliflower.
This is my Meatball Soup. I am crazy for Pho - I mean who isn't!? Pho inspired me to serve every soup I make with that "Pho-Style" finish. Which means fresh, raw, finely diced herbs, green onion, spicy, Serrano peppers & citrus.
The final soup I'm sharing today is my Stuffed Pepper Soup. My mom made stuffed peppers when we were growing up and they were so yummy. When I started making them as an adult, I realized I was always going to be someone who cooked WAY TOO MUCH FOOD. I am certain that most of you, if not all of you, know exactly what I mean. Often living alone, or with whatever man was in my life at the time, there are only so many days in a row you want stuffed peppers. So I started by coarsely chopping up the left over peppers and building a soup with them. Easy, right? You basically just need vegetable stalk! Well, I can't remember the last time I made stuffed peppers because now I just go straight to making the stuffed pepper soup. It is one of my favorite dishes to make. I even auditioned for Master Chef one year with it! They loved it. Not enough to select me though! Man, I would love to cook for Gordon Ramsey! And learn too! He can be a hot head, but so can I.
Whoa!!! Can you feel the heat on your tongue!! I encourage you to top all of your soup with that "Pho-Style" freshness from now on!! Another thing grandma, mom, Joe, Tony and I have in common is that we LOVE heat!! The spicier the better! And I added turmeric to the rice cooker to make my rice a vibrant yellow. (I also throw a bunch of whole peppercorns in the rice cooker! Try that - you can eat them when the rice is done! mmmm) Special shout out to my b/f/f from 4th grade - now - JJ!! Nobody loves my Stuffed Pepper Soup more than she does! (She can't handle the Serrano's though! LOL)
I Love you Tony! Thank you for being such a GREAT big brother!!
Tony walking dad to his & mom's 60th anniversary party this year (2022). Oh how blessed I am when it comes to love.
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