Staying warm

As some of you may know, parts of the family are being attacked by ferocious cold. For example, as I write this, it's only 77 degrees Fahrenheit in Brazil, at 1 a.m. ... freezing! So for absolutely no reason at all, we'll share a soup recipe.

Oh, yeah. And it snowed in the United States. A bit. Like, maybe seven inches on Friday night, probably another eight inches Saturday, and perhaps four more Sunday, followed by freezing rain. So, to this, all we can say is,
Welcome Aunt Ligia and Uncle Humberto!

At least Ligia spent some time in Buffalo. Freow.

Anyway, the recipe, again, for no apparent reason.

Recipe for Agnolini Soup
(Agnolini is probably spelled wrong; pronounced eye-o' lee-nee)
Classic Italian recipe, possibly adapted in Brazil.
It's closer to a pasta dish with a red sauce than a soup

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Feeds: Stuffs three or four people completely full

Tools:
-- vegetable peeler (*1)
-- knife
-- cutting board
-- big pot
-- fire
-- big soup spoon
-- can opener

Ingredients:
-- minced garlic
-- 14 oz/400g/1 hectactre precooked kielbasa
-- 3 large carrots/5 small carrots
-- 2 cans of beef broth, each ~14oz/400g/14.6 kiloton
-- 2 cans of good-quality non-concentrate tomato soup, such as Progresso tomato-basil; ~19 oz/540g/3 fortnight each
-- one big package of cheese tortellini (*2), 20 oz/570g/12 klingons
-- 1 beer
-- 1 loaf Italian bread (optional)

Preparation: Open the beer. Baste the chef lightly, and maintain adequate moisture levels during the cooking process.

Peel the carrots (*1). Chop the ends off. Line the carrots up facing opposite directions so you can block 'em with one hand while cutting with the other. Slice carrots about 1/3-inch thick (8 mm/14.7 potrezebies). Dump carrots into the big pot.

Cut the kielbasa to a similar thickness. Dump kielbasa into the big pot.

Grab a big soup spoon. Dumb three heaping spoonfuls of the garlic into the big pot.

Light the big pot on a high fire. Stir occasionally until the kielbasa begins to brown; the other ingredients will cook in the kielbasa juice.

When the kielbasa's browned, dump in the two cans of beef broth and the two cans of tomato soup. Slap yourself in the forehead. Retrieve the greasy cans; use the can opener to open the cans, then dump the _ingredients_ into the big pot. Discard the now-empty cans.

(If you bought the bread, this is good time to stick it in your oven at ~300 degrees, unpreheated, wrapped in foil, and it'll come out great nice and warm.)

Stir soup occasionally until warm (but not boiling, probably about 10 minutes); you can find out by sticking in your pinkie finger. If it's uncomfortable for more than a second or two, you're good.

This time, open the package of tortellinis and drop them in; try not to splash yourself with hot soup. Wait a few minutes, then pull your bread out of the oven and cut it up, maybe add a little butter. By the time you're done, the tortellini should be close to being done (total cooking time, maybe 8-10 minutes). Taste one tortellini at a time to test doneness.

Serve in a big soup bowl, with buttered bread on the side. You can drop a little dried parsely and/or parmesan cheese on top.



(1) Chuck Norris would use a chef's knife, and then not need to call for an ambulance.

(2) You can get something like pepperoni and cheese tortellini, but you're already dumping in a pound of sausage. The cheese balances things out better.


Yeah, you thought were completely serious. Check this out:


Inside a neighbor's home, where it was safe and cozy, Lil' Genghis also tried out a rocking chair:


We got some great pictures we'll try to post.They're already online, if you look, though.