Fare Exchange: Making more naan, more soup and perfect waffles

Jane Henegar

Good morning, readers. Local diners knew just where to turn when wanting to duplicate the best local dishes, of course, to all of you. Can anybody unravel the secret of Chattanooga Golf and Country Club's thick asparagus stalks, "marinated in something smoky and roasted to perfection?"

Another reader purchased the organic chicken broth at M58 Cafe at Calvary Chapel and is asking you "how to make a chicken broth that cooks for hours, drawing nourishment from the bones? I read this week about the healing power of broth cooked 10 hours or more."

NEW NAAN

A second naan bread recipe from Clifford Burdette omits yogurt as an ingredient.

No-Yogurt Naan Bread

2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

teaspoon baking soda (optional)

4 1/2 cups bread flour

Add garlic to butter and let it soak for 10 minutes. Then remove garlic.

In a large bowl, proof yeast in warm water by adding 1 tablespoon sugar and let it set for 9-12 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt and baking soda, if using, and enough flour to make a soft dough.

Knead for 6-8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, heat grill, skillet or griddle to high heat. Lightly oil grill.

At grill side, roll 1 ball of dough out into a thin circle. Place dough on grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter and cook until browned, another 2-4 minutes.

Remove from grill and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared. Makes about 14.

IN-SEASON SOUP

This soup, colorfully in season, came from Roseann Strazinsky of Fairfield Glade, Tenn.

Vegetable Soup

7 cups water

(1 pound, 12 ounces) whole tomatoes

4 chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

1 cup diced raw potatoes

1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas

1 package (10 ounces) frozen baby lima beans

1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn

tablespoon salt

1 bay leaf

teaspoon sweet basil leaves

teaspoon dill seed (optional)

teaspoon pepper

Combine ingredients in a large soup pot.

Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender.

Makes 16 1 cup servings, 70 calories per serving.

AFFLING

Rosemary Palmer, prolific blogger at notjustpaperandpaint.com, gave high praise to these waffles.

Perfect Waffles

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 large eggs, separated, plus 2 large egg whites

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons coarse cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking soda

5 tablespoons salted butter

Vegetable oil cooking spray, for waffle iron

Stir together milk and vinegar; let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.

Melt butter and let cool slightly.

Beat whites with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

In large mixing bowl, add yolks, flour, sour cream, cornmeal and baking soda. Mix together with spatula. Stir in milk-vinegar mixture. Fold in half of egg whites; add other half to mix well. There should be clumps of egg whites still in batter. Add melted butter into batter gently. Do not overmix.

Heat a waffle iron on the highest setting. (You will want to try your iron's settings to make sure your "high" does not brown the waffles too much.)

When hot, spray both sides of waffle iron with non-stick vegetable spray. Do this each time you make a waffle.

Pour 1 cup batter into waffle iron. Close lid and cook until waffle is golden and crisp, about 6 minutes. Some of the mixture will ooze out the side and you should hear a slight hissing sound. That is the air from the egg whites evaporating.

Remove waffle from iron. Quickly toss between your hands to release steam and help retain crispness, and serve.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with your favorite toppings. These almost have a funnel cake-like taste and are great served with just a little confectioners sugar on top.

A couple of hints:

* If making these for a group, cook a few ahead and place on a baking sheet lined with a tea towel. They can then be popped back into the waffle iron for about a minute.

* To freeze, let cool completely. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze flat, such as on a baking tray. After waffles are frozen, place in a freezer bag to store. To serve, let them thaw on the counter for about 10 to 15 minutes, then put into preheated waffle iron for about 1 1/2 minutes to heat up, making sure you lightly spray the iron with vegetable spray. Tastes just as fresh as when first made.

STAYING SHARP

Louise Brown had the sharpest idea for giving someone a sharp knife, so read on. She wrote:

"I purchased a knife sharpener years ago thinking that it would not work. Boy, was I wrong. It is called AccuSharp knife and tool sharpener. It is extremely easy to use and my knives were sharp. How sharp? I cut myself the first time I used one, so I ordered 10 more for Christmas presents, giving with them a box of bandages.

"I ordered mine from Amazon for $8 or $9 each. I lost my original sharpener and, when I found these on Amazon, I ordered four more. I never want to be without these things."

JUST A DASH

From Mr. and Mrs. Sunday on the subject of tasty broth:

"Instead of bouillon cubes, try 'Better Than Bouillon' paste; it keeps forever in the fridge and tastes far better than cubes or granules. After all, the first ingredient (at least in the chicken version) is chicken, not salt. There is better bouillon concentrate (aka 'soup base') than 'Better Than Bouillon', but this one is sold in most supermarkets.

"Second Dash: Dissolve a spoonful of bouillon concentrate (or cube if that's all that's handy) into the water you're making rice with for a nice hint of flavor with negligible effort."

I will second that first Dash from the Sundays. One more benefit of the bouillon paste: No laborious unwrapping of wrappers inevitably stuck to the cubes.

Come back next week, you hear?