I'm a food critic

.........because I like to eat. Eating is good and good for you, too. When hubby and I retired from the work force (in our early 50's) he took over the cooking (I'd done that for 28 years and wasn't excited any more to cook night after night). Except, I saved the holiday meals for me. I liked dressing up the table, gathering the family and sitting down to our seasonal, traditional meals. And every once in a while I'll get back in the kitchen to take a hand at meal making for the fun of it, a change of pace and to let the cook off for the night. And be honest, who doesn't want to create some mouth watering recipes after watching the Julie & Julia movie?

But, I've recently discovered something about myself --- I love making soups. I do! What's not to love about a hearty, steaming bowl of good soup? If you're ever in Bellingham, you have to visit Harris Avenue Cafe (yes, it's on Harris Avenue in the Fairhaven district) if nothing else, for their array of good soups. Henry puts together a wonderful menu of delectable soups and we've sampled many of his masterpieces. Again and Again. So, I thought to myself, "self, you can do some soups, too." And I did.

The first was using up the left over Christmas Eve turkey in a turkey noodle soup that we served to a friend visiting us after many years of lost connection. During the meal and lively conversation, he stopped mid-sentence and looked at me and proclaimed, "This soup is fantastic and the very best turkey noodle soup I've ever had." It really was good.
(my secret ingredient: Tabasco sauce, just a few drops will do ya.)

Next, I was dreaming about having a bowl of Henry's Beef Goulash soup at Harris Ave and just couldn't wait for it to appear on the soup menu. So, I came up with a recipe and went to town (ah, actually the kitchen). Served it to hubby and wah-lah - I was declared the soup maker of the family. My Hungarian Gulyas (goulash) Soup was superb. It had all the main ingredients: it was hearty, it held it's own compared to Henry's, and was fantastic served with some crusty rosemary bread.


I'm now heading to the library to gather cookbooks on soups and try my talent with more new soup recipes and see what I can create next. Once a week soups are now on our menu. What's not to love - it's a meal in a bowl with all the goodness of those veggies simmering in a mouth watering broth and hits the spot on a cold winter evening. Bon Appetit!