Yesterday the weather was just miserable... blowing a gale and
threatening to storm all day... most un-Floridalike (there was even a
tornado watch all day!) So I made a pot of vegetable and rice soup for
dinner. It was a little bland but nice and comforting with some fresh
bread and ham...
I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
that it was vegetable stew!

The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.

"Karen AKA Kajikit" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday the weather was just miserable... blowing a gale and
> threatening to storm all day... most un-Floridalike (there was even a
> tornado watch all day!) So I made a pot of vegetable and rice soup for
> dinner. It was a little bland but nice and comforting with some fresh
> bread and ham...
> I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
> bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
> that it was vegetable stew!
>
> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
> he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.

If you made your own beef or chicken broth, it may be that the broth
gelatinized in the refrigerator and all that is necessary is to heat the
soup and it will become liquid again. If it is thick because the rice
absorbed all the liquid, add some more broth to thin the soup out. Taste
it. The soup may need to be re-seasoned.
Janet

On Apr 16, 9:28?pm, Karen AKA Kajikit > wrote:
> Yesterday the weather was just miserable... blowing a gale and
> threatening to storm all day... most un-Floridalike (there was even a
> tornado watch all day!) So I made a pot of vegetable and rice soup for
> dinner. It was a little bland but nice and comforting with some fresh
> bread and ham...
> I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
> bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
> that it was vegetable stew!
>
> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
> he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.

Well, don't just look at it, thin it out... coulda had a V-8... and a
bouillon cube. Don't know if there's any meat, but some small meat
balls would be a nice thing to add... and for a quickie add 2-3 tube
steak sliced into coins to flavor the extra liquid.

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> Yesterday the weather was just miserable... blowing a gale and
> threatening to storm all day... most un-Floridalike (there was even a
> tornado watch all day!) So I made a pot of vegetable and rice soup for
> dinner. It was a little bland but nice and comforting with some fresh
> bread and ham...
> I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
> bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
> that it was vegetable stew!
>
> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
> he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.

What did you use as a base? Chicken stock, veggie stock, beef stock? I'd
just add more of that and thin it out.

kili

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> Yesterday the weather was just miserable... blowing a gale and
> threatening to storm all day... most un-Floridalike (there was even a
> tornado watch all day!) So I made a pot of vegetable and rice soup for
> dinner. It was a little bland but nice and comforting with some fresh
> bread and ham...
> I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
> bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
> that it was vegetable stew!
>
> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
> he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.

My question is the same as Janet's; had you reheated it yet? If it was
homemade stock it does gel when chilled and thins out when reheated.

My other question is, why would DH refuse to eat stew? There's really no
difference except one is thicker. Is it a texture thing? I much prefer
vegetable (or vegetable beef) stew over the soup, and I'm a soupaholic!

Jill

On Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:54:36 -0500, "jmcquown"
> wrote:

>Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
>> Yesterday the weather was just miserable... blowing a gale and
>> threatening to storm all day... most un-Floridalike (there was even a
>> tornado watch all day!) So I made a pot of vegetable and rice soup for
>> dinner. It was a little bland but nice and comforting with some fresh
>> bread and ham...
>> I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
>> bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
>> that it was vegetable stew!
>>
>> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
>> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
>> he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.
>
>My question is the same as Janet's; had you reheated it yet? If it was
>homemade stock it does gel when chilled and thins out when reheated.
>
>My other question is, why would DH refuse to eat stew? There's really no
>difference except one is thicker. Is it a texture thing? I much prefer
>vegetable (or vegetable beef) stew over the soup, and I'm a soupaholic!

He doesn't like stews of any description... I don't know why - it's
just one of his little quirks. He doesn't much like eating leftovers
either, so I can see a LOT of stew in my immediate future! I think
I'll cook up some chicken breast and add that and just call it
chicken-and-rice... we don't have any stock on hand right now to thin
it out. (it was self-stocking vegetable soup... elderly fresh
tomatoes, carrot, potato, onion, celery, a can of sweetcorn and some
brown rice, with seasonings of course.)

On Tue, 17 Apr 2007 09:53:48 -0400, Karen AKA Kajikit
> wrote:

>He doesn't like stews of any description... I don't know why - it's
>just one of his little quirks. He doesn't much like eating leftovers
>either, so I can see a LOT of stew in my immediate future! I think
>I'll cook up some chicken breast and add that and just call it
>chicken-and-rice... we don't have any stock on hand right now to thin
>it out. (it was self-stocking vegetable soup... elderly fresh
>tomatoes, carrot, potato, onion, celery, a can of sweetcorn and some
>brown rice, with seasonings of course.)

Could you make a pot pie out of it?

Lou

"Karen AKA Kajikit" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday the weather was just miserable... blowing a gale and
> threatening to storm all day... most un-Floridalike (there was even a
> tornado watch all day!) So I made a pot of vegetable and rice soup for
> dinner. It was a little bland but nice and comforting with some fresh
> bread and ham...
> I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
> bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
> that it was vegetable stew!
>
> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
> he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.

When ever you have a "bland" mixture of a savory dish like your soup there are 3
tricks I use.

First: Make sure to adjust the salt and pepper as you have diluted the original
ratio.

Second: a small amount (few tablespoons) of vinegar will perk up a soup, you
just want enough for the "sour" flavor to be in the background.

Third: a small amount of soy sauce will perk up any stew, soup, or dish of that
nature. Soy sauce contains a natural amount of glutamate as in MSG. Some
scientests believe humans have a 5th taste sensors and the glutimate is the
beefy taste the Japanese call umami.

http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jaco...ory/taste.html

"Umami taste"
Umami is the taste of certain amino acids (e.g. glutamate, aspartate and related
compounds). It was first identified by Kikunae Ikeda at the Imperial University
of Tokyo in 1909. It was originally shown2,3 that the metabotropic glutamate
receptor (mGluR4) mediated umami taste. Binding to the receptor activates a
G-protein and this may elevate intracellular Ca2+. More recently it has been
found that the T1R1 + T1R3 receptors mediate umami taste4 . (Go to top)
Monosodium glutamate, added to many foods to enhance their taste (and the main
ingredient of Soy sauce), may stimulate the umami receptors. But, in addition,
there are ionotropic glutamate receptors (linked to ion channels), i.e. the
NMDA-receptor, on the tongue. When activated by these umami compounds or soy
sauce, non-selective cation channels open, thereby depolarizing the cell.
Calcium enters, causing transmitter release and increased firing in the primary
afferent nerve

Dimitri

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> On Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:54:36 -0500, "jmcquown"
> > wrote:
>
>> Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
>>> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
>>> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the
>>> week... he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew
>>> point-blank.
>>
>> My other question is, why would DH refuse to eat stew? There's
>> really no difference except one is thicker. Is it a texture thing?
>> I much prefer vegetable (or vegetable beef) stew over the soup, and
>> I'm a soupaholic!
>
> He doesn't like stews of any description... I don't know why - it's
> just one of his little quirks. He doesn't much like eating leftovers
> either, so I can see a LOT of stew in my immediate future! I think
> I'll cook up some chicken breast and add that and just call it
> chicken-and-rice... we don't have any stock on hand right now to thin
> it out. (it was self-stocking vegetable soup... elderly fresh
> tomatoes, carrot, potato, onion, celery, a can of sweetcorn and some
> brown rice, with seasonings of course.)

Sounds like a plan. And of course you can freeze it, too, you know, so you
don't have to feel like you're eating nothing but the stew day in, day out!


Jill

On Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:36:10 GMT, Lou Decruss >
wrote:

>Could you make a pot pie out of it?

That was my first idea, too. Top the stew with biscuit dough or
cornbread batter and bake. Or, top the stew with mashed potatoes
and a sprinkle of cheese and bake it for a veggie cottage pie.

Tara

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:

> I thought I had plenty of liquid in it, but tonight I went to grab a
> bowl of the leftovers, and it had thickened up so much in the fridge
> that it was vegetable stew!
>
> The question now is what can I do to revive it or make it more
> appealing to DH so I'm not stuck eating it for the rest of the week...
> he was happy to eat the soup but he refused the stew point-blank.


Having read the other responses, I'm going to make a completely different
approach. First, make the stuff even THICKER, by heating it up, reducing it
to a thick paste (this would be a good time to add any other vegetables that
you've got lying around and which wouldn't clash with the stuff already in
the stew), stirring in a cornstarch slurry and cooking for a while longer.
Let it cool back down, and then do any of these:

1. Make croquettes: Shape the thick stuff into ovals, coat them with
breadcrumbs, and deep-fry.

2. Make egg rolls or potstickers: Add some cooked cabbage and use the
mixture to fill egg-roll wrappers or gyoza wrappers.

3. Make pierogies: Use the mixture to fill pierogies.

You could also fill crepes or enchiladas; I think you get the idea.

Bob

On Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:07:41 -0500, "jmcquown"
> wrote:

>Sounds like a plan. And of course you can freeze it, too, you know, so you
>don't have to feel like you're eating nothing but the stew day in, day out!

The freezer's full alas... in the end I decided it was simplest for me
to just eat it myself, so I've had a bowl for lunch each day (3 days
now). It should be finished tomorrow (I hope!) and if it's not the
last of it will hit the trashcan - much more of it and I think I'll
grow roots!