Kay Wheeler Moore

Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

C'mon, winter blast: we're ready for ya with Zesty Tomato Soup

OK, let no doubt exist: we needed something warm and with a kick to it. The weather was icy and lingering (is again today, as well. Thank goodness I have a sealed container of this mixture left over for my lunch.); we needed something that warmed down to the toenails. For such a time as this I'd been saving my Zesty Tomato Soup recipe. Out with the ingredients.

For the 1 can vegetable stock called for in the recipe I subbed 14 ounces of my own brew. I boiled 2 stalks of fresh celery, 1/2 cup chopped green peppers, and 1/2 cup corn (fresh veggies I had on hand) in about two cups water and let it simmer for about 30 minutes to make my own broth so I could control the sodium content. I measured the liquid to be sure I was adding 14 ounces. Then besides the broth I added to the soup-makings these veggies as well.

The minced garlic and red-pepper flakes did their job well. This garden-fresh soup with a kick kept us warmed up (in a good way) long after mealtime. When the ice blasted us, we were ready with this delicious warmer.

Zesty Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
4 cups fresh tomatoes, diced (or 2 28-ounce cans diced no-salt added tomatoes)
1 (14-ounce) can vegetable stock, reduced sodium (or your own homemade vegetable stock)
2 cups water
1/2 cup fresh corn cut from cob, 1 stalk celery, 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (add these if you've made your own stock)

In a stock pot heat olive oil. Add garlic, red pepper, and oregano. Saute until garlic simmers. With your hands crush the tomatoes over the stock pot. Add the vegetable stock and water. (If you've made your own stock, add the vegetables in the stock at this point.) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.


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