Fare Exchange: Split pea soup, Russell's chili and scratching the itch for fresh tomatoes

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To reach us

Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send. Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750 E-mail: chattfare@gmail.com

photo Jane Henegar

It is good to sit across from you here at the newsprint (or computer screen) divide, and to speak about nourishing and tasty food.

It's still soup weather, and we have a request for split pea soup to make and to find in a restaurant, and for real true authentic well-spiced chili. To be specific:

A friend who did not sign her name but whose handwriting is familiar - hence, my ascribing the female pronoun - wrote, "A friend would like a recipe for split pea soup. He said not pea soup but split pea soup. Also he would like the name of any restaurants that serve split pea soup in the Chattanooga area."

RUSSELL'S CHILI

Today the Russell's chili conversation continues, this time from Brenda, who "grew up on Russell's chili in the Catoosa County, Ga., area. It was the best in town. I could never make good chili with just chili powder, onions, tomatoes, etc. I missed this chili so much that I developed my own spices added with beef fat. It almost smells and tastes like it but not quite the same. Would love to see it come back. Within the last year I worked on this chili just for my family. To make great chili, it's all in the spices. I call my chili Lifetime Chili because it took a lifetime for me to make great chili."

If you have lifetime chili of your own at your home, please deliver the instructions for our homes.

CROCK-POT COOKING

Dave Lacy used his crock-pot recently for a satisfying dinner.

Crock-Pot Dinner

1 large pork roast, bone-in

1 jar salsa verde

1 poblano chili, halved, with stem and seeds removed

2 cups (approximately) cooked turnip greens

Potatoes (allow a potato per person)

Cut the pork in large pieces and add the bone to the crock-pot. Add salsa, chili and turnip greens. Cook on high for about 4 hours, reducing to low for the last 2 hours. Then add 2 medium potatoes (allow about a potato per person) and cook for another 2 hours, or until potatoes are done.

DERBY DREAMS

Rosemary Palmer, proprietor of the blog notjustpaperandpaint.com, has May's Kentucky Derby on her culinary mind. She sent a recipe for mint julep with its roots in Chattanooga, not Louisville. (And she has promised a Derby Pie too.)

Where would we be, in terms of things quaffed and chewed and simply consumed, without the flavor of mint?

Mint Julep

3 to 5 fresh mint leaves

1 tablespoon simple syrup

2 to 3 tablespoons Chattanooga Whiskey

Crushed ice

Requests

› Split pea soup› Russell's chili recipes

Muddle the mint leaves in a mortar and pestle. If you don't have one of these fun gadgets, don't worry. Just use the end of a wood spoon and muddle the mint leaves in the bottom of a mixing cup.

(And if the word muddle is confusing, note that it means to bring to a disordered or confusing state – but also meals simply to mix up. As in mint juleps. - JH)

In a separate measuring cup, add the mint into your simple syrup and Chattanooga Whiskey and stir.

This is a very easy recipe to double or triple so you have enough to share, or to fill a larger glass.

Of course, this is a drink to taste. You may prefer a little extra Chattanooga Whiskey. The color of your whiskey can also make your drink darker.

For a Classic Mint Julep, a silver mint julep cup is a must. If you don't have one, don't worry. It will still taste just as good. You might also have picked up a souvenir glass while there, or like me, at a thrift store.

Fill your cup with crushed ice and pour whiskey mixture over ice.

Add a straw and a few additional mint leaves for garnish.

VEGGIE CAPERS

Marge Pasch is up next, with a recipe using capers. "I am enclosing one of my favorite salads, Marinated Grilled Eggplant. It comes from a book I found in McKay's called 'Italian Salads' by Maxine Clark. I love this dish so much that, when I have it on hand, I eat pieces like candy. It's lovely with an Italian dinner or with any other type of dinner. It is very typical Italian in that it uses the capers (which we saw growing wild on ancient bridges in Italy in 2013), mint, olive oil and lemon."

As to cooking, Ms. Pasch explained, "I have a rectangular cast-iron grill pan I put on top of two burners on my stove, and that allows me to cook lots of eggplant slices at once. I do think the grilling adds to the flavor, and once you get the hang of it, the grilling goes quickly."

Here then is another use for those sprigs of mint just shooting forth, as well as a confirmation that mint, olive oil and lemon together make marvelous things happen.

Marinated Grilled Eggplant with Salmoriglio Dressing

2 medium eggplant, thinly sliced

About 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Salmoriglio Dressing (recipe follows)

Spread out the eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let drain 20 minutes. Rinse well, pat dry with paper towels, then brush the eggplant slices with olive oil.

Heat a ridged stovetop grill pan until smoking and brush with oil. Alternatively, preheat an overhead broiler to high. Grill or broil the eggplant slices, in batches, for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown and lightly charred. Arrange the slices on a serving platter and spoon the dressing over the top. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to let the eggplant absorb the flavors of the dressing. Sprinkle with extra mint leaves and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Salmoriglio Dressing

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

Finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 unwaxed lemon

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped, plus extra leaves to serve

1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and chopped

Put vinegar and sugar in a bowl, and stir until dissolved. Add lemon zest, juice and olive oil, and whisk well. Stir in the garlic, chopped mint and capers, and set aside to infuse.

TOMATOES IN MARCH

We will wind up this week with a word about tomatoes from Mr. and Mrs. Sunday.

"About this time of the year the craving for real tomatoes starts to get intolerable for us, and we need something as close as we can get to the taste of the real deal. The next time this gets to you, head down to Wal-Mart (yes, really - we go by taste, not snob appeal) and buy a tub of NatureSweet red Cherub grape tomatoes. No, they aren't cheap but they DO scratch the fresh tomato itch. Halved or quartered with a little chopped sweet onion, a drizzle of good olive oil, basil (fresh if you can), salt and a sprinkling of chevre crumbles and you have a creditable Caprese salad even in the depths of winter."

Here's to now, and here's to spring's next pleasures. And as always, here's to you.

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