Organization isn’t really one of my strong suits. My part-time teaching gig ended around November, but it took me more than a month to rearrange my study table here at home, cluttered with piles and piles of test papers and essays (which I confess, never really read thoroughly, hence, I’m too lazy to be a teacher).
But I’m attempting to organize my blog a little bit more. I’ve noticed a few hitches here and there – posting schedules, what to post, and tags. The last one I have yet to address, if that only means I have to go through every single one of my 75 posts to tweak the tags, then that can wait (notice my failed logic).
On posting schedules and what to post, I tried to go back to basic pen and paper lists, with days and dates marked with tentative recipes/dishes I might try. I seriously need visual reminders to keep me on track (haha).
Today’s the first day my “list” takes full effect, and I’m pretty happy that I managed to make at least one dish. I tried to break it down into smaller, attainable goals every day with breathing space in between dishes. That simply means in a week, I’ll TRY (and I will, I promise), to post dishes of varying degrees of difficulty to challenge myself and bring in more variety to my blog.
For today, I wanted to make something that uses basic canned items that take up too much space in our pantry. Instead of the usual frying and microwaving, it would be so much better to go the extra mile and make something “special” but still incredibly easy.
Mom woke me up today and told me she’s in the mood for soup, and like it was meant to happen, soup also happened to on my shortlist for today, and I needed to make good use of vienna sausage.
The secret to this hearty soup is using good quality vienna sausage. I was really never a fan of vienna sausage because I thought it tasted funny, and most of the local varieties are exorbitantly salty. But all that changed when I tried Libby’s, an imported brand. And before somebody lectures me about patriotism, let me just put it out there that Libby’s trumps all y’all local cans. Even you, Purefoods. And I really think Libby’s can be found in any major grocery nationwide. Even the largest grocery in Zamboanga has it, so yeah, it’s accessible.
If you think you’ve found a better vienna sausage brand than Libby’s, then please, use it to make your soup more special. And drop me a line, I’d like to hear more about it.
But for now, cheers to great, easy soup on a Saturday morning.
Vienna Sausage Soup (serves 6 – 8)
- 1 large can (around 255 grams) Libby’s Vienna sausage, drained
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large red onion, sliced
- 4 shallots or really small red onions, sliced in half (for garnish; optional)
- 1 small potato, sliced into small cubes
- A dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 (a total of 20 grams) chicken bouillon cubes
- 4 cups water
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons flour
- a dash of thyme
- 4 – 6 cabbage leaves, sliced into strips
- In a medium sized saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Heat until oil glistens or “shines”, an indicator that oil is hot enough. When oil is hot, add garlic and fry for 10 seconds.
- Add the onions and continue to fry until it starts to go limp. When using shallots/small onions, be careful when stirring so the half pieces do not crumble. At this point, remove the shallots sliced in half and reserve for garnish.
- Add the potatoes and reduce heat to low. Continue to fry until potatoes are lightly browned and tender, around 3 – 5 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Add the Vienna sausage and stir to coat it with oil.
- Add the water and the bouillon cubes. Crank up the heat medium and stir to dissolve the cubes.
- Add the flour and cornstarch and simmer for about 3 – 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the thyme. Add the cabbage leaves at the last minute.
- When desired taste and consistency are achieved, remove from heat, garnish with shallots and serve warm in individual bowls. Enjoy!
