Mom’s Cure-All
My mother swears that a bowl of garlic soup is just the tonic for colds, flu or just winter blues. Even if it doesn’t cure a cold, it does taste great.
Serve the soup with toast spread with herbed goat cheese and you’ll start feeling better almost immediately. Be sure to broil the toast at the last minute so it is very hot when served.
Mom had the answer for dessert too. She always served slices of guava paste that we’d put between slices of queso fresco for the most wonderful sweet cheese “sandwiches.”
Menu
Garlic Egg Drop Soup
Herbed Goat Cheese Toasts
Guava and Queso Fresco
GARLIC EGG DROP SOUP
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 eggs
Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant and pale gold, about 30 seconds. Do not let garlic brown or it will taste bitter.
Add chicken broth and increase heat to medium-high. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes. Beat eggs in small bowl and add to simmering soup while stirring. Cook 1 minute. Ladle into bowls and serve.
2 servings. Each serving:
204 calories; 1,618 mg sodium; 214 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 0.15 gram fiber.
HERBED GOAT CHEESE TOAST
1 baguette
1/2 (5 1/2-ounce) package herbed goat cheese
1 tablespoon whipping cream
Cut baguette into 8 (1-inch) slices. Set aside.
Spoon goat cheese into small bowl. Add whipping cream and mix well.
Spread about 1 tablespoon cheese mixture on each bread slice. Broil 4 inches from heat source until bubbly and lightly browned, about 4 minutes.
2 servings. Each serving:
440 calories; 778 mg sodium; 28 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 0.23 gram fiber.
INGREDIENTS
STAPLES
Chicken broth
Eggs
Garlic
Olive oil
Whipping cream
SHOPPING LIST:
1 baguette
1 (12-ounce) package queso fresco or 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 (5 1/2-ounce) package goat cheese
1 (1-pound) bar guava paste
COUNTDOWN
20 minutes before: Preheat broiler. Mince garlic. Mix goat cheese and whipping cream.
15 minutes before: Slice bread and top with cheese. Beat eggs.
10 minutes before: Saute garlic for soup. Add chicken broth to soup.
5 minutes before: Put bread under broiler. Add eggs to soup.
Just before serving: Slice queso fresco and guava paste.
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Cook’s Tip
A garlic press is fine if you’re adding garlic to salad dressing, but for frying, it’s often preferable to peel and mince garlic cloves. Peeling will be easier if you put the clove on a board and whack it with the side of a chef’s knife just hard enough to crack the skin.
