~Sunday, February 3, 2013
It is no coincidence my husband
and I live in a small village nestled against the foothills of the mountains — every weekend as kids, when my
sister and I would arrive home from school on Friday afternoons, our bags would
be packed already, and we’d climb into the car with my mom and dad for the
familiar drive up the windy highway to our cabin in the San Gabriel Mountains. Of course, it took becoming an adult for me
to realize how good we had it: romping through the forest;
hanging around the local arcades; being dropped off at the community lake to
play on paddle boards and slides all day, and where I ultimately learned how to
swim, (not at swim lessons back home
where the teacher threw me in a pool as a terrorized kid which only served to
scar me with a lasting phobia of the water!).
Now, as an adult, the mountains
still hold a special place in my heart because of my childhood memories, and I
live so close to the mountains I can head out my front door for a hike at any
time. Unfortunately, becoming an adult
also comes with its many responsibilities, and visits to my childhood cabin are
far and few between. My parents still
make the periodic cabin maintenance and repair trip every couple months;
however, last weekend on one of these intended trips, the rainy weather forced
them indoors all day to relax and enjoy the warmth of the fireplace and the
comfort of homemade soup! True to her nature, my mom whipped
up a new recipe and—yes!—jotted down all the details to share with me so I
could in turn share them with you! :
Ingredients
(Serves 8 to 10)
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 medium red-skinned potatoes
cut into ½-inch cubes
1 small head cauliflower, coarsely
chopped
¼ teaspoon dried red chili
pepper flakes
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely
chopped
4 cups chicken broth
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
To
prepare meatballs:
8 ounces lean ground beef
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley,
finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground
pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
cheese
½ cup dried breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
In a large pot, heat olive oil
over a medium flame and sauté onion, celery, and carrots for 10 minutes; then
adding potatoes and cauliflower to sauté 5 additional minutes. Mix in red chili pepper flakes, parsley, and
chicken broth. Bring ingredients to a
boil; cover and reduce to a simmer.
Meanwhile, use hands to mix
ground beef with the remaining ingredients (adding egg last); form teaspoon
size meatballs and set aside. In a
medium size pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil and completely dissolve
bouillon cube. Drop meatballs into the
water and adjust flame to a simmer and cook approximately 5 minutes. Drain water from pot and add meatballs to
soup mixture, stirring in 2 additional cups of warm water. Continue cooking for 20 minutes and adjust
salt to taste.
Serve with freshly grated
Parmesan cheese.
