An Updated Version of a Classic Soup-and-Sandwich Combo
By ANGELA McRAE, The Coweta Shopper Kitchen
Like many of you, I’ll bet, I stocked my post-Christmas grocery cart with lettuce, cheese, fruit, and nuts.
I happily ate salads for about two days, then I was hankering for something hot. And some meat. And then came freezing-cold weather, and nothing but soup would do.
I thumbed through my old metal recipe boxes, but alas, the cooks were heavy on sweets, and I need to lay off sweets for a while. But soup? I doubt you can ever eat too much soup.
Scrounging through my old cookbooks, I came across one I’d forgotten about, Gems from Georgia Kitchens. This book was published by the Garden Club of Georgia in 1963. I love reading through old cookbooks, which are really just little culinary time capsules of the eras in which they were written. This one has recipes for Pumpkin Chiffon Pie (oh, those chiffon pies), Girl Scout Delight (it’s made with those famous mint cookies), and Lemon Ice Box Pie (the one you make with sweetened condensed milk).
Still, I wanted a soup to try, and I flipped over to that section of the book. The first thing that caught my eye was something called Bookbinder Soup, and as a longtime book lover, I decided I had to try that. Then I studied the ingredients, which included one veal knuckle and the meat of a medium snapping turtle. Was this some kind of joke? Apparently not. With my column deadline looming, I couldn’t imagine where to find a snapping turtle in time to make that soup, so I moved on. Then I saw a recipe for Tomato Chowder, a recipe contributed by Mrs. Edward C. Lambert Jr. of Atlanta.
Now, I grew up eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, but tomato chowder? After all, chowder is a thick soup made with milk or cream, and I’ve not heard of adding that and veggies to a tomato soup. It certainly didn’t sound like the red stuff in the Campbell’s can. Intrigued, I checked out the ingredients and decided to give this recipe a try.
I’m happy to report that I now have a new favorite tomato soup. This one was simple to make, warm and tasty, and with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side, it made quite a filling meal.
Do give it a try, and if you happen to have ever tasted Bookbinder Soup, I’d sure love to hear about it!
Tomato Chowder
1 cup celery, chopped fine
1 tablespoon onion, chopped fine
1 (14.75-ounce) can creamed corn
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cook celery and onion in one quart of water for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender but still firm. Add corn and tomatoes and combine. Blend milk, flour, and butter well, then add to soup. Add cheese and seasonings and heat thoroughly. Yields 4-6 servings.
