Shrimp Soup with Cumin

This is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. My mother loves this soup. She says that she feels as if she is in an elegant restaurant whenever she has it. So, in some cases, it literally carries you away from your hum drum life!

It is easy, delicious and ... elegant.

Shrimp Soup with Cumin
Yield - 4 bowls

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 thick slices French or Italian bread
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
5 cups shrimp stock, chicken stock, water or a combination
1 to 1-1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled

PREPARATION
Combine olive oil and garlic in a large, deep saucepan or casserole and turn heat to medium. Add the garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are a very deep golden, almost brown, about 10 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Turn heat to low and brown the bread in the oil on both sides, in batches if necessary; it will take about 5 minutes. Remove the slices and spread each with about 1/2 clove of the cooked garlic. Mince the remaining garlic. (I just use a whole glove on each slice.)

Cut each of the shrimp into 3 or 4 pieces. Put stock into the pan, turn heat to medium and bring to a gentle boil. Add shrimp, cumin, salt and pepper and cook over low heat for 3 or 4 minutes.
Place a piece of bread in each of four bowls, then ladle in a portion of soup with shrimp. Sprinkle with minced garlic, garnish and serve.

Corn Off the Cob

I was making fried chicken the other day (yes, I felt very Southern, farm family-ish). We were going to have corn on the cob (substituted at the last minute at the store when all the green beans had brown spots). At the last minute I realized that my one big pot was going to be used for the chicken so I had nothing big enough for corn on the cob.

However, I also knew all those frozen niblets were once on the cob. I'd read enough cookbooks to have a vague idea of how to cook that corn deliciously when it was off the cob. More than anything this tells me of my dependence on frozen corn, which I've found very unsatisfactory as of late.

I may switch to this until the corn on the cob is out of season.

The New Doubleday Cookbook (1985 - not so new now but a wonderfully dependable overall cookbook) had this dandy recipe which we all loved.

They called it Boiled Fresh Whole Kernel Corn but that name just doesn't cut it.

Corn Off the Cob

6-8 ears sweet corn, shucked
1 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Cut corn from cob. Place in a saucepan with water and sugar, cover, and simmer 5-8 minutes until tender. Drain and season with salt, pepper, and butter.