{"id":360,"date":"2014-04-06T16:04:50","date_gmt":"2014-04-06T21:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pcandres.com\/?p=360"},"modified":"2015-11-06T15:41:11","modified_gmt":"2015-11-06T21:41:11","slug":"listen-to-your-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/?p=360","title":{"rendered":"Listen To Your Mother"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0;float:none\"><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fthesoupblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D360&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;width=450&amp;height=30\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width: 450px; height: 30px;\"><\/iframe><\/div><div id=\"attachment_368\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/cropped-corn-mother2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-368\" class=\"wp-image-368\" title=\"cropped corn mother\" src=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/cropped-corn-mother2-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/cropped-corn-mother2-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/cropped-corn-mother2.jpg 239w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Corn Mother<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When I was growing up, the kitchen was the domain of the mothers and sisters.\u00a0 The males would wander in occasionally with their ham-fisted attempts at cooking such family favorites as fried chicken and tamale pie (the only known use for Green Giant Mexicorn), but for the most part we stayed out of the way.<\/p>\n<p>We learned how to show our appreciation with praise and thanks.\u00a0 More typical, though, were the nonverbal compliments of a clean plate and getting up for seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine my surprise then, when I head off to cooking school and find that the world of professional kitchens was dominated by men and the kind of macho swagger that wears burns and scars as badges of honor.\u00a0 Dropping pans because they were too hot was a definite no-no.\u00a0 If your hand towel slipped, you\u2019d \u201ctake the pain.\u201d If you couldn\u2019t do that, you couldn\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless I suspect that many of the great chefs of classical cuisine share my nostalgia for their moms\u2019 kitchens.\u00a0 As such, despite the dues-paying patriarchal tradition, they celebrate the kitchens they grew up in by calling the foundations from which all the classic sauces are made, mother sauces.<\/p>\n<p>The mothers include B\u00e9chamel, based on milk, Velout\u00e9, based on white stock, Espagnole, based on brown stock, Allemande, a white sauce thickened with eggs and cream, Hollandaise, emulsified butter and egg yolks, and tomato sauce which has tomatoes.\u00a0 Some also include mayonnaise, but I don\u2019t feel comfortable keeping my mother in a jar in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n<p>These week\u2019s soup, corn chowder, started with a b\u00e9chamel base.\u00a0 This involves creating a blonde roux (equal parts flour and butter cooked until it\u2019s slightly off-white) to make the added milk thicker, which is then flavored with onions, bay leaves and seasoning.<\/p>\n<p>I had planned to make clam chowder, but an absence of clams at the supermarket forced me to change tack.\u00a0 No problem, this base can be used for any chowder.\u00a0 And since corn\u00a0 chowder is my mom\u2019s favorite, it was an obvious choice.\u00a0 Add the corn, some chilies and cilantro and the soup takes on a southwestern flair, the part of the country where my mother still lives.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong, I can be as much of a macho nut job as the next guy.\u00a0 (I don\u2019t even like asking for directions from a recipe.) Still, the motivation in all kitchens is the same be they professional and domestic.\u00a0 Sure, Mom\u2019s the only one who\u2019ll give you any TLC if you hurt yourself. (Thanks, Mom.)\u00a0 But all true cooks enjoy creating delicious food and sharing it with others.<\/p>\n<p>Why don\u2019t you share yours?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Southwestern Corn Chowder<br \/>\n<\/strong>(serves 6-8)<br \/>\n4 T butter<br \/>\n4 T flour<br \/>\n1 quart milk<br \/>\n1 large onion, chopped<br \/>\n3 bay leaves<br \/>\nSalt &amp; pepper, to taste<br \/>\n2 lbs. corn (it\u2019s okay to use frozen)<br \/>\n1 can (4 oz.) green chilies, diced (it\u2019s also okay to use fresh)<br \/>\n1 cup cilantro, chopped<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Combine the butter and flour in a 3 quart sauce pot and cook on low for five to seven minutes.<\/li>\n<li>Add milk, onion, bay leaves and seasoning and allow to thicken (about ten minutes).<\/li>\n<li>Add corn and chilies, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 30-45 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro.<\/li>\n<li>Serve warm with grilled chicken or meat, chips and salsa or a nice Caesar salad (invented by Mexican cook Caesar Cardini).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Image Credit: <\/em><em>Dorothy Lange\u2019s iconic photograph of a depression era mother<\/em><em> disrespected with clip art ears of corn and a sawed-off version of MS Paint.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Okay, so I\u2019m not your mother, but I haven\u2019t heard from you in a while.\u00a0 Is that a nice way to treat someone?\u00a0 Would it kill you to leave a comment? \u00a0Thanks for reading.\u00a0 I\u2019ll also be reading <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and<\/span> responding.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I was growing up, the kitchen was the domain of the mothers and sisters.\u00a0 The males would wander in occasionally with their ham-fisted attempts at cooking such family favorites as fried chicken and tamale pie (the only known use for Green Giant Mexicorn), but for the most part we stayed out of the way. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,73,62,48,64,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chilies","category-chowders","category-corn","category-dairy","category-herbs","category-vegetarian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=360"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2280,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360\/revisions\/2280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}