Sunday Soup Day: Bunny Chow

Well, it's officially here. It's now football season and that means Sunday Soup Day is back! I've been anticipating a slight drop in temperature that would demand warm soup on lazy weekends. We got it this weekend and I took an adventurous route and created a fantastic soup that is new to our family: Bunny Chow.

Bunny Chow is a traditional curry dish that originated in Durban, South Africa in the 1940's. Legend says that the curry dishes were created for individuals outside of a famous vegetarian restaurant. The owner scooped his curry dish into hollowed-out pieced of bread, covered it with the remaining bread and wrapped it up. Because of the caste system, certain people groups were forbidden to eat with others, but the owner sent the chow to the "outsiders." It became popular and versions of the original Bunny Chow can be found at specialty restaurants all over the world. The word bunny is thought to have originated from the Sanskrit word Banijy (or Bania caste - an occupational title describing business people and traders).

I was watching the Food Network a few weeks ago and saw a version of Bunny Chow that reviewers raved about. It looked really good on screen so I took special note of it and quickly wrote down what I thought I saw inside and set out create my own version.

I knew that I wanted to include the following ingredients: chick peas/garbanzo beans, red peppers, green peppers, onions, ginger, curry, cream, tomatoes, coconut and cashews. I peeked at a few recipes online and realized I needed to add a jalapeno pepper, too. Then I stuck with what I saw on tv and went at it with no plan or recipe.

I sauteed the vegetables in some butter and added the curry and fresh ginger before adding chicken broth and half-and-half. I also added the coconut and cashews after the broth. Then, I added the beans and tomatoes. I used one of each of the vegetables mentioned and two cans of beans. I also threw in more seasoning before letting the soup simmer for about 15-20 minutes that included salt, garlic, corriander, fenugreek, black pepper and cumin.

It turned out so well I wish I had a clear recipe so I can make it again and help others make make it, too. It was an original and the Panera bread bowls added to the perfection. I think the spices may have been a little too much for my taste if the sourdough bread wasn't there to offset them. We sat with friends and ate the soup for almost an hour and we couldn't say enough good things about the food.

Cinnamon French Toast

We've had a string of very hot days followed by two days of rain and this morning was the first "brisk" morning of the year. It's the first day of September and this month symbolizes a lot of firsts. The first day of school, the first football game (at all levels) and the first practice at Victory. It was also the first cool, lazy morning that required some quality home cooking. It also became Isaiah's first French Toast experience...and it won't be his last.

I anticipated a French Toast morning last night, so I bought some fresh made cinnamon bread from the bakery. I like an unsliced loaf of bread so I can determine how thick each piece will be.

I thought I would give Isaiah a real French Toast experience by breaking out the cast iron skillet. I coated the pan with butter and evenly spread the bread, soaked in batter, across the cooking surface. The smell of butter frying bread on an iron skillet is quite possibly my favorite aroma on Earth. It had our entire house smelling like a greasy spoon cafe.

The batter was very simple. I used four eggs, milk, a dash of salt and vanilla. We've been privy to using cage free organic eggs lately. It even allowed us to eat our eggs during the recent recall. I don't know if it's all in my head, but these eggs taste so fresh. They're definitely worth the extra dollar.

The French Toast was spectacular and we had a wonderful time eating breakfast as a small family. We even danced a little. Isaiah out-ate his mom, again. He loves breakfast, meaning I will be making a lot of French Toast for many years to come. I'm certainly not complaining.