Home > Feeding Frenzy > Archives > 2008 > March > 05 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHow do you reach for convenience?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Soup from a box? Who’d a thunk it! On the other hand, I guess once they started packaging upscale wines in a carton, other liquids were sure to follow.
It’s always a little exciting, as well as a little disconcerting, when a familiar product is given a new-fangled twist. Some packaging innovations make your eyes pop out in the supermarket aisle, while others barely register.
I have to admit, I’m a chicken broth in a box junkie. I seem to use more chicken broth than any other human, substituting it for water in rice and couscous and making quick soups by combining the broth with pureed roasted vegetables. But I confess, not once have I been tempted to try any of the other flavored boxed soups.
As preparing meals becomes more frantic I certainly have come to depend more on convenience items. I know I pay extra for them but what they save me in time balances out the cost. I find myself using salsa to top grilled fish or chicken, as well as adding it to tacos and chili for an added kick. Formerly a jarred pasta sauce snob, I’ve now embraced some of the new brands that taste as good as homemade (right now my faves are Rao’s Homemade at Publix and Dave’s Gourmet at Whole Foods).
There are also some unexpected treats scattered around the supermarket, especially in the refrigerated section, like hummus and caponata, a rich tomtato, eggplant and olive dip that is great on its own or warmed and served over pasta or polenta. Think hummus is just a spread for pita? Then try out this favorite 10 minute recipe of mine (for some odd reason my kids love mussels):
Mussels With Hummus Broth
4 servings
Serve with grilled slices of sourdough bread rubbed with garlic cloves and drizzled with olive oil.
1 tablespoon hot chili oil, or to taste
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup prepared hummus
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
In a stockpot or large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat, add the chili oil. Saute the garlic until aromatic and golden. Add the hummus and stir to combine. Whisk in the wine and water and bring to a boil, whisking until smooth. Add the mussels, cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until they open. Discard any mussels that do not open. Ladle the mussels and broth into bowls. — Adapted from “Rocco’s 5 Minute Flavor” by Rocco DiSpirito (Scribner, $26.95)
BOXED SOUPS
Reviews: These soups will make you want seconds
Photos: Comparing the Soups
There are lots of ways to think “inside” or “outside” the box. Have you tried box soups? What are your favorite products that deliver lots of flavor in unusual ways?
THE PHOTO: Butternut and Bacon Pasta Sauce over Tortellini, cooked with soup from a box. Photos styled by Jeanne Besser / AJC. Photo by Chris Hunt/ AJC
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Melody
March 6, 2008 9:16 AM | Link to this
What is with the Food Section? I have not cut out a recipe for 4 weeks now! There was not one appetizing recipe in todays Food & Drink. Who is going to make Succotash over Parmesan Grits with lima beans and grapes?
By Stan
March 6, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
Agreed…no new Food Goddess article in a couple of weeks. No new What can I bring.
Sad
By FCM
March 6, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this
I agree….I love reading/responding to Kessler……Gave up on Table Talk (Mrs. Ford is pathetic….Ms. Lee is great, but the ideas are being over done)….I stopped buying the paper years ago when the print version went down hill….(I am not big on the goddesses ego…but can deal)…..now I don’t even want to read the jumbled mess this online version has become……
By sue snow
March 6, 2008 1:05 PM | Link to this
I liked the Food and Drink section better before it became this Evening Edge thing. No good recipes, no good restaurant reviews, no recent Goddess or What Can I Bring sections. This new format is BORING. And PLEASE review restaurants outside of Atlanta. People eat in Gwinnett, too!
By Brian O'Shea
March 6, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this
Melody, Stan, FCM, Sue:
The feedback is really helpful, and I’d like to ask a question. Are your comments about the online Food & Drink or the print, or both?
I’m the channel manager for EveningEdge.com. The Food & Drink section of the AJC contributes recipes, columns and features to EveningEdge. Other stories appear on the AJC Food & Drink page.
To Sue: The newest recipes from our food staffs are easy to find on the main recipe page here. Click on the Newest recipe additions link just below the featured recipe of the day at the top of the page.
EveningEdge.com is still growing, and we are interested in your suggestions for making it better.
Brian O’Shea Channel Manager, EveningEdge.com
By ATLmom
March 6, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this
Just had to say that I love to mix refrigerated tortelli and fresh spinach into the Campbell’s boxed Italian Tomato Soup. It’s good and easy. Plus, my toddler and my husband approve.
By Stan
March 6, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this
Brian,
For me it is the online Food & Drink. It seems that new content has suffered greatly with the advent of Evening Edge. Though I do enjoy this blog, and love that Kessler has a blog (didn’t care for his article this week).
Stan
By ATLmom
March 6, 2008 2:27 PM | Link to this
About Evening Edge, I have to admit that I’m a little confused by it. Is it part of AJC or something different that uses AJC content?
I really like the print version Food and Drink. The Evening Edge might just take some getting used to. It seems to be organized nicely.
By Jeanne Besser
March 6, 2008 3:57 PM | Link to this
Thought I would weigh in on some of the issues going on here, since it is “my” blog. First of all, I hear what you’re saying about the ajc’s food & drink section - both online and in print. Stan, no one misses seeing the Food Goddess more than I (for a clue why, read my bio.) Melody, I understand where you’re coming from too, but we’ve been trying to quickly get to some late breaking food related stories on events going on in Atlanta. We have some fun new stories coming up, and are making room to fit in regular columns that have been squeezed out lately. So definitely stay tuned and continue to let me know what you’re thinking. You can always find me at Feeding Frenzy!
By Brian O'Shea
March 6, 2008 4:54 PM | Link to this
ATL Mom: That’s a good question. Evening Edge is endorsed by the AJC, but is a bit different from Food & Drink in that our site specifically caters to the needs of busy Atlantans looking for dinner ideas (and inspiration) tonight.
Thanks for commenting!
By King
March 7, 2008 10:22 AM | Link to this
Two Thums DOWN to boxed soups. Their full of sodium and lack flavor.
By King
March 7, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this
Two Thumbs DOWN to boxed soups. Their full of sodium and lack flavor.
By Mazokunomiko
March 7, 2008 2:28 PM | Link to this
Wow, I didn’t realize so many people hated boxed soups! I like the Campbell’s Select Gold Label Butternut Squash. Sure, it’s full of sodium, but it tastes pretty good for something that came out of a box (and is ready in three minutes!). Besides, I don’t have a lot of time to experiment in the kitchen to make my own from scratch. I’ll go to a restaurant if I want a better-quality soup.
To me, this is like the arguments against fast-food chains. Sure, the food isn’t fresh and it’s TERRIBLE for you, but you’re not going there because you want a fresh gourmet burger. You go there because it has a decent flavor and you can get it in minutes. Convenience is important these days.
By FCM
March 7, 2008 4:53 PM | Link to this
Brian,
I gave up on the print edition of the AJC years (literally) ago. I have tried (and usually like) several things from the Online version though not since Christmas time as of late.
One thing is that I notice many food items are just ‘quick fix’ and have no real appeal….I have been cooking since I was 8 (Pot Roast in an oven is my earliest memory)….like Ms. Besser I genuinely love to cook. For quick toss together from a few jars or soup can meals I don’t really need a recipe or at least I don’t see my self ‘clipping’ it from the paper (print or online). Oh wait I take that back sort of, I did do Kesslers potatoes but i just copied that on paper from his blog….I did it before the printable version was available .
I look to the paper to clip truly inspiring dishes. Sometimes I change them a bit to meet my caloric needs (read reduce the calories). Sometimes I do them as they are printed.
I no longer have to go to Scalini’s to get Chicken Francoise I can make it at home thanks to the ajc.
I guess I am just a throw back to cooking….I don’t get the quick heat and eat thing. I am a single Mom of 2 so I certainly need it! However, it all seems so blah and unappealing.
I stopped reading Ms Ford because I found her taste was “all in her mouth!” Her ego, compared to what she considers ‘good dining’ is not deserved…..while the goddesses ego could be a bit ‘over the top’ I realized that even the goddess wasn’t aking herself seriously so I could deal.
I do think there is a place for this section. The concept is good. It is the content that leaves you feeling hungry.
Ms. Besser, I am still trying to decide how cooking with ‘broth’ is a ‘soup’ recipe….the photo showed some High End soups (I tried 2 the tomato was ok the squash was horrible!)…..why aren’t all the recipes about these instead? Oh, and I prefer the chicken stock to the broth myself…but a mean pot roast (in a crockpot) w/awesome gravy can be just a Veggie Broth and Lipton Onion Mushroom packet away (now while I would cook that I would NOT cut the receipe out of the paper).
By leighway
March 9, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
All site criticisms aside, the subject of boxed soups lets me tell you all about the most fantastic soup I’ve ever had. Trade Joes Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup. Unbelievable! A colleague at work literally put a new box of it into my hands and said, “You HAVE to try this.” Free worked for me and I served it up at supper..it’s rich, creamy, slightly sweet with none of the acid that can be found with tomato. There is no heavy roasted pepper flavor, just a really comforting and delicious blend of all the ingredients with many different layers of taste. Just to show I’m not some ringer place by TJ’s, we tried their boxed vegetable puree whatever and it was so bad we threw the whole pot away. Go try the TJ Pepper and Tomato soup. You’ll find a gem!
By Yvonne
March 11, 2008 6:47 AM | Link to this
I don’t believe one has a right to complain when about the online version that can be viewed for free. I do that now myself since we retired to my husband’s old family home in Central Georgia. However, I faithfully subscribed to the AJC for the 40+ years I lived in Atlanta. I tried to continue my subscription here, but it is no longer delivered in this area.
I am very interested in cooking and still enjoy the food section. I must say I was a bit astounded to see a feature on “Tater Tots” followed by a feature on boxed soups. I was raised in the 60’s when canned goods and frozen dinners were the rage. (Canned green beans with canned mushroom soup was considered gourmet!) I became interested in cooking and discovered a whole new world of tastes. Hint to busy cooks: Make homemade soups in large amounts when you have time and freeze the leftovers for busy days.