I’ve decided that soups are photogenic.

But here’s the background to this soup.

It wasn’t the recipe for Sauerkraut I had learned from Mimi Sheraton (and used for years), although I had worked with this new one before and been pleased by its speed, its simplicity – and its taste.  This time, when I prepared it on Thursday, I had to add enough water to bury two good-sized smoked pig knuckles in the Kraut.  I ended up with nearly a quart of extra, very aromatic juices which I didn’t need on the plates.  I poured it into a container and placed that in the refrigerator, thinking it might make a good winter soup base for a lunch in the next few days.

Today that’s exactly what it did – what I did.

Our lunches are really casual.   Most of the time (almost always) I don’t actually cook anything, and by the time either of us is hungry, there’s very little time for a fuss in any event.  I totally improvised this meal, and I worked fast.  The idea was to use some of the things, leftovers large and small, which I already had available, and which might not have found a purpose otherwise.

I started with the Sauerkraut-without-the-Sauerkraut, and added something over a cup of good beef broth.  I added the outside leaves of a white cabbage from Foragers, which I had boiled for three minutes or so, drained and cut as a chiffonade.  In addition, I added some small pieces of celery, from Migliorelli Farm, cut up and briefly sautéed; the heal of a spicy sopressata, almost minced, which had been leftover in the preparation of a frittata a few days ago; some rich, almost syrupy tomato juices left from a can of ‘Muti’ Baby Roma tomatoes, whose fruit had been used in a fennel-tomato compote nine days ago;  and, once in the bowls, I garnished the soup with the parsley, now chopped, which I had washed and dried for an entrée of whole fresh trout which had to be aborted two days after that dinner.

The soup was delicious; it was also surprisingly spicy.  The resulting rich color was a surprise.  I think the image above manages to describe the taste visually, if anything could.  I wish I could give it a name, but I’m unlikely ever to recreate it.

I served it with crusty, very delicious slices of what I believe was a Bien Cuit Miche, (which would be a blend of fermented rye and whole wheat flours), purchased today at Foragers Market.

This meal demonstrated the amazing impact fresh herbs can make on three very different food groups, as well as the blessings of a good larder regularly restocked.   Working out the larder part is pretty easy when the kitchen is used regularly.

The herb part is just as easy, but, again, that assumes frequent meals at home.  The Pacific salmon had been frozen before it arrived at Whole Foods, the Italian-grown beans arrived in my kitchen already cooked and sealed in a jar (and in fact they had been opened and half used two weeks earlier), and the sweet potatoes had been dug out of the ground in Kinderhook some time last year.  None of the three had been harvested the day before, and none would have come fully into its own without the help of a fresh herb.

• wild Coho salmon fillet from Whole Foods, roasted in butter in a shallow enameled cast-iron pan (for one pound of salmon, use two tablespoons of butter), seasoned, then finished with a little shredded sorrel (yes, after three meals from the same bunch, and I still have some left!) from Rogowski Farm
• tiny cooked Italian beans (‘Fagiolina del Trasimeno’) from Eataly, warmed with olive oil in which thinly-sliced garlic from Migliorelli Farm had been heated until it began to brown, along with whole sage leaves from Eataly
• Japanese sweet potatoes from Samascott Orchards tossed with olive oil, rosemary leaves, salt, and pepper, placed in an unglazed ceramic pan with some whole, unpeeled garlic, also from Samascott Orchards, and roasted at 400º for about half an hour
• the wine was an Austrian red, Fritsch Zweigelt vom Donaulöss 2011

Since I had planned ahead by defrosting four links of Kielbasa overnight, and as we were blessed with Sauerkraut leftover from the Schweinshaxen dinner a few days ago, there wasn’t much question about what was going to put on the table tonight when we returned from Ryder Ripps’ opening at Postmasters Gallery.

The sausage came from the Amish people who sell their exceptionally high-quality meat, cheese, eggs, and picked vegetables in the Union Square Greenmarket.  By the way , most of their excellent produce reflects the community’s origins in seventeenth and eighteenth-century Germany, so I have no idea how they ended up with the delicious chorizo we’ve enjoyed so often, but that Spanish sausage has become our favorite.  Now if I could only persuade them to make Morcilla, or at least Blutwurst.

• Kielbasa links from Millport Dairy, grilled on a ribbed enameled pan before being buried in a pot in which leftover sauerkraut was being heated, very aromatic from being cooked with vegetables and spices, and served with German mustard
• German Butterball potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, boiled, drained, dried, stirred with butter and tossed with the last, tiniest bit of Savoy cabbage from Hoeffner Farms, shredded, and parsley from Eataly, chopped
• the bottled Munich beer was Spaten Münchner Hell

We both really like skate, and I have no idea why it’s not more popular than it seems to be.  Part of the problem may be the paucity of restaurant treatments known to most people who might otherwise be inclined to prepare this delicious fish at home, and part of it may be that not everyone has access to the really small, tender wings as do the patrons of our local Greenmarkets, which are supplied by fisherman off the eastern end of Long Island.  Last night, for the two of us, I cooked five of them.  They weighed approximately only 2 1/2 ounces each, and they all managed to fit into my 12-inch iron pan with very little space to spare.

The vegetable, collard greens, was a very late season cache from Rogowski Farm (probably the very last I’ll see there until fall). from which I was able to reserve enough for one more January meal.

It’s amazing to me, and hugely appreciated by myself and I hope many other market fans, that so many of what I will describe as ‘green vegetables’, perhaps generously in some cases, are still available here fresh at the end of January, and how coveted they are by our local home and restaurant chefs who scour the Union Square Greenmarket four days a week.

“Winter greens’? Not may years ago the produce in the stalls (far fewer in number) would have been pretty much limited to potatoes, onions, bread, preserves, maple syrup, cider, and apples.   Today, in a symbiotic relationship with their city patrons, our local Greenmarket farmer neighbors, who had already become very creative in offering new produce, have managed to adopt and create new growing methods and environments, while continuing to provide the hands-on attention and care which allow these living things to thrive. Even in the month of January it is still possible (or has been, until almost this day) to find there kale, collards, leeks, Brussels sprouts, cabbage of several kinds, fennel, spinach, tomatoes of several kinds and colors, scallions, some delicate greens (including sorrel and cress), radicchio, sage, rosemary, thyme, and an occasional aberration like the baby leeks and fresh garlic I found on Friday, also at Rogowski Farm.

While I’m crazy about root vegetables, and every year I look forward to the winter sweetness they offer, they can really shine in the company of a fresh foil, even if it’s a tiny one.

• skate from Pura Vida Fisheries, dredged in a coarse polenta from Citarella, seasoned with salt, and pepper, very briefly fried in a bit of olive oil until golden brown, removed from the pan, the heat turned down, knobs of butter, some chopped shallots from John C. Madura Farms and finely-minced garlic from Migliorelli Farm added, the aliums stirred and cooked (‘sweated’) briefly, the flame then turned off entirely, and lemon juice, shredded sorrel from Rogowski Farm and a bit of chopped parsley from Eataly added to the pan along with a little more butter, all of it stirred once again until the butter melts, the sauce then scattered over the fish
• sweet collard greens from Rogowski Farm, cut in a rough chiffonade, then braised in a heavy pot in which crushed garlic from Migliorelli Farm had been allowed to sweat with some heated olive oil, the dish finished with salt, pepper, a sprinkle of fresh lemon, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a Spanish white, the wine was a Spanish white, Shaya old vines, verdejo Rueda 2013

Hey, is this even the same restaurant serving as the one serving the meals uploaded here over the last few weeks?  Yes, of course it is;  it’s just that my ancient German roots pop up every so often, sometimes when I least expect it.

I think I’ve mentioned in the past that I’ve grown attached to the delicious plenty offered by the wonderful Amish folks of Millport Dairy in the Union Square Greenmarket.  On a recent visit and conversation with John Stoltzfoos at his stall, I brought back two beautiful smoked pork knuckles, weighing about 20 ounces each.  When I had spotted the Haxe on his table that day, I had immediately imagined them cooking, slowly, in a large pot of sauerkraut and aromatic vegetables.  Ideally this would be on a wintry January evening.

It should have been much colder than it was, but I couldn’t wait any longer, so tonight became the occasion for our modest Bavarian feast.  Aside from the tasting itself, this may have been the best moment:  It was about an hour into the slow cooking when I was able to share his pleasure when Barry walked into the aromas of the apartment after a ‘meetup’ earlier in the evening in Gowanus.

• two geräucherte Schweinshaxe (smoked pigs knuckles) from Millport Dairy, placed in a pot with about seven cups of drained and rinsed sauerkraut (here a mixture of Bubbies, and Schorr’s Pickles  brands), chopped onion from Hoeffner Farms, chopped carrot from Monkshood Nursery and Gardens , whole allspice berries and pepper corns,one large bay leaf, salt, and enough water to cover everything, brought to a boil and simmered for about one and a half hours before being divided onto plates
• German Butterball potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled in heavily-salted water, drained, dried in the still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot, (I love that entire beautiful old stove-to-icebox set!), halved, tossed with a little butter, and some parsley from Eataly, chopped
• the wine was a quite good, but very inexpensive Austrian white, Kremser Weinzierl Grüner Veltliner Trocken 2011 from Winzer Krems, in lower Austria