Friday, April 10, 2020

Quarantine Soup from @MaddieDayAuthor plus #giveaway

Maddie Day, here. Like any scared sensible person these days, Hugh and I are staying home except for fresh air walks on unpopulated routes. While our local supermarkets offer an early seniors-only shopping hour, we're trying to go as infrequently as we can. Last Saturday I wanted to make a seafood soup, but we still had enough milk to last a few more days and that was the only urgent item on the shopping list. We're trying to stretch the trips out to every ten days or two weeks.

So I checked the pantry, fridge, and freezer. Huh. I had fish stock and clam juice, plus a can of crab meat and frozen shrimp. I always have onions and garlic. Sure, the soup would be better with fresh dill and parsley and with fresh-caught fish. Still, we adapt as we must. I give you Quarantine Soup! Which you can adapt by substituting chicken stock and chicken or whatever you have around.



Quarantine Soup

Your rule of thumb is to use what you have.





Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 sweet pepper, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 quart seafood stock
1 cup clam juice
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 pound crab meat (canned is fine)
1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped)
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 pound shelled raw shrimp
Juice of 1/2 lemon

As you can see, once I started cooking, I added more ingredients! That's okay. You will, too.
Directions
In a heavy soup pot, saute the onion, celery, and carrot until tender. 

Add the garlic and saute for a minute, then add stock and clam juice. Bring to a simmer and add rice. Cover and cook until rice is done.
Add pesto, soy sauce, dill, crab meat, and salt and pepper to taste, then heat through.

Add shrimp and lemon juice and cook until the shrimp just pinks up. Serve hot with crusty bread, green salad, and a glass of white wine.

Bon appetit!
Readers: What do you have in your pantry? What changes would you make to this recipe? I'll send one of you an ARC of Nacho Average Murder!
If you're hankering for southwestern food instead, you'll want to pre-order Nacho Average Murder, the seventh Country Store Mystery. 
Robbie goes back to her hometown of Santa Barbara for her tenth high school reunion - and a murder investigation.


My newest book is Murder at the Taffy Shop, which released March 31 in an exclusive paperback deal from Barnes & Noble and is the second Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery. 
I hope you'll visit my alter-ego Edith Maxwell and me on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.


Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha-nominated and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

30 comments:

  1. I too am trying to stretch what I have to reduce supermarket runs. I find myself making wacky yet delicious meals! If I made this I would have to swap the seafood stock and clam juice with chicken broth and the fish would become beans. I have a bucket load of canned beans!
    magicgirl2357@yahoo.com

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  2. We are just working with what we have. We are Asian so we eat different things and have rice too. Thank you for your great books!

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  3. the recipe for Quarantine Soup sounds delicious. Hubby isn't fond of cooked carrots (loves raw carrots - go figure) so I would omit those. I'm thinking that some shredded cabbage would be good in it as well.

    Thankfully, my Mom always taught me to keep a well stocked pantry. We always buy up can veggies when on sale. All stable goods like flour, sugar, oil, crisco, macaroni etc. there was always a "spare" in the pantry other than the one you were using out of. Having gone through a nine day power outage, I learned to keep things like can tuna and salmon on hand as well as things like cereal, peanut butter crackers and nuts on hand. In my younger days when it was a choice between food and paper towels, food always won. However, in later years I think from having to do without or make do, I've always had paper products from paper towels, foil, and even the elusive toilet paper stuck back so as not to run out. So when all this hit, we were already well stock up. Our trips to the grocery story are also rare and far between. We plan our meals out with what we have. Before our trips we plan out what we want to eat in the near future and try to find accordingly. If we can't find it, we change our plans. We live in a rural, very small town with a large senior population. We found the store with more patrons on senior day. We now go on a "normal" day getting there when they open and find it better. We go with the fact that if we arrive and the parking lot is heavily occupied that we go home and try again another day.

    Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy of "Nacho Average Murder". Can't wait to read it!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  4. We have canned clams, so I would give that a go versus crab. We usually use vegetable stock for soups.
    Props to you for reducing gtocery trips.
    browninggloria(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  5. We are always pretty well stocked. Living in a very rural area in the Midwest means being prepared in case we can't get out for awhile due to a blizzard. We pick up canned goods and paper products if there's a sale/coupon since it's not something that will go bad. And since I'm still required to go to work I'm not eating at home much to use anything up.
    I think the recipe sounds good as it is and very versatile. Easy to switch out the seafood flavors to make a chicken soup or beef stew.
    kozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  6. I'm not a seafood lover,but I have a lot of canned beans of every type,tomatoes, fruit, etc. I like chili and love kidney beans. I've found some interesting recipes online. One was for pig pickin cake or mandarin orange cake which sounds good and easy. Would love to read your book.
    kathyclugston3@gmail.com

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  7. We have a well stocked freezer these days. I would add mushrooms and a little bit of lemon zest. And maybe some fresh grated ginger. Thanks for the giveaway and stay safe! aut1063(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. I love seafood but do not have clam juice or seafood broth in my pantry. I would have to substitute these with chicken broth/water. A good recipe to add to my pantry repertoire.
    Grace dot koshida at gmail dot com

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  9. My freezer is pretty well stocked and have pasta, peanut butter in my pantry. I can make do with what I have if I have too. Luckily,I have great friends next door that will pick up stuff for me when the go to the grocery store.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  10. Your soup looks delicious, Edith! I have 2 large bags of frozen shrimp, and can make stock from the shells. We're out of rice, along with most fresh fruit and veggies, and the only pasta our stores have been carrying are spaghetti & fettucine. Just waiting for our next pickup order, which can't come soon enough! lola777_22 at hotmail dot com

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  11. Love the veggies in this soup, but we aren't seafood fans so I'd have to go with veggie broth or chicken and add chicken. Other than that, it's pretty much the base of soup I use all the time. Usually add whatever leftovers are in the fridge or freezer.

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  12. I have a well stocked pantry with something of everything. I love seafood so this is the perfect recipe. doward1952(at)yahoo.com

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  13. This looks really good. The only thing I think I'd add would be a little bit of chili flakes. I like my soup a little spicy. bluedawn95864 at gmail dot com

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  14. i don't eat seafood and am currently out of chicken so i'll have to go vegetarian. wskwared at yahoo dot com

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  15. My refrigerator includes chicken broth, chicken, and some fresh (if wilted) basil, so I guess that's my adaptation of the moment! Thanks for the challenge and the yummy anticipation for both soup and Good Books!

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  16. My refrigerator and shelves have everything to make this soup I wouldn't chg a thing it sounds great. We have been doing that clearing out the cabinets was our theme and we tried using up all that was about to expire in the cabinets and then added chicken and it was so good. It was almost all the cans that we had that we used so we were happy and full. Love it when hubby cooks and makes things that we just have in the house which we have done so much lately as he is the one that goes out he stops after work and gets our groceries and my meds. Peggy Clayton ptclayton2 at aol.com

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  17. Stir fry dishes with Asian pantry ingredients.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot con

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  18. I live with my parents. My dad does the cooking. I don't know what is in the pantry. I would substitute chicken for the seafood. jkrmurray@gmail.com

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  19. I don't have any seafood in my freezer just Cod and Tilapia.using what I have readily available would be carrots, pork soup bones,noodles so it wouldn't be very good. ☹️😔

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  20. The only change I would make would be to leave out the sweet peppers as i don't like them - sure sounds tasty - thanks for the chance to own one of your books - trwilliams69(at)msn(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. Taylor, you are the winner! Please check your email, and congratulations.

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  21. Thanks for sharing the recipe. This looks delicious. I have of dried legumes, lots of tomato paste, chicken bouillon powder.
    I wouldn't change it, I love seafood.

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  22. I probably use chicken and chicken broth. Thanks for the idea and chancre.

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  23. Your recipe sounds great and so does the book! legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

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  24. Thanks for sharing! Happy Easter! lindaherold999@gmail.com

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  25. We have lots of pasta in our pantry so I'd make my very own Macaroni Slop (also known as Macaroni Miscellaneous.) This involves tomato sauce, ground beef (may also add Italian sausage), mushrooms, onions, cheese of your choice (I like parmesan), a dash or 2 of black pepper, & basil to taste. Cook it all in a skillet.

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  26. Sounds yummy! maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  27. I have soup, rice, canned ham & tuna, as well as cookies, crackers, & cheddar cheese popcorn! (There's a ham in the fridge!)

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  28. Love the recipe. Love seafood. I would increase the rice a bit. Prefer my soups dry and salads wet

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  29. I'm down to frozen fish fillets and frozen pulled pork.

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