OT - Nagging doubts re tomato soup - was, Re: SC - American sugar consumption

[Philip & Susan Troy]

"Laura C. Minnick" wrote:
> 
> Uh, last I knew it always said 'Tomato Soup'. And in the directions on
> the back, it will tell you to use water for Tomato Soup, and milk for
> Cream of Tomato Soup. That's how my mom always did it. Of course you
> know, Master A, that they say the taste is one of the first things to
> go... ;-D

And in our Deliberately Missing the Point department... honorable
mention to 'Lainie...

No, goof, what I'm saying is that even the stuff called "Tomato Soup",
but in the cans you don't add anything to (ready-to-serve, as opposed to
condensed), there appears to be some distinct dairy element. The option
for non-or-nearly-non-dairy tomato soup appears to have vanished, even
in the case of the little red-and-white condensed cans.
 
> > I'm still tinkering with my recreation of a tomato soup I had in a
> > sleazy luncheonette/coffee shop in Binghamton, New York (home town of
> > Rod Serling), allegedly an English tomato soup with horseradish and
> > bacon. Will post if I ever get it right, but it kicked butt.
> 
> My favorite is a can of Campbell's, with a can of canned tomatoes, some
> fresh sauteed green onions, some fresh basil, and maybe spinach, chopped
> fine, served with french bread with monster cheese toasted on top...

I have a bit of a phobia with tomato soups and sauces being
misrepresented as being, by default, Italian preparations. This isn't to
say they can't be, or that the combination of tomato and basil
necessarily is, but there seems to be this compulsion to add things like
garlic and/or basil to any tomato product, and I'm morally opposed to
any assumption that this is a necessary thing. My problem, not anybody
else's. However, as a true New York food fan, I mourn the
near-extinction of real New York Chowder, so horribly misrepresented in
commercial settings, often because of scads of oregano, basil, garlic,
and other non-essentials, including, in extreme cases, pasta. Bleah. Of
course, the fact that Manhattan Chowder appears to be derived from
Montauk Chowder, which is in turn derived from Block Island Chowder,
which is a perfectly legitimate example of a New England Chowder
containing tomatoes. It makes me giggle, is all, when I hear New
Englanders pontificating about authenticity and some imaginary Chowder
Rheinheitsgebot.   
 
> > > But someone else is getting my share of alot of things, come to think of
> > > it... ;-D
> >
> > Sorry, this has become topical since the release of the Broadway
> > musical... "Where's _my_ share? Where's Leo Bloom's share? I want... I
> > want... I WANT EVERYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN IN THE MOVIES!!!"
> 
> Ahh... "Springtime with Hitler..."

Springtime _for_ Hitler... and here I am, thinking it fun to substitute
names of groups in the Eastrealm for lines in the song, as in, "I was
born in Eisental, and that is why they call me Hal... Don't be stupid,
be a smarty, come and join St. Michael's party..."  but this way madness
lies, and with Curia a week away, at that.

BTW, for those who become upset at the mere mention of this subject
matter, regardless of context, I should point out that Mel Brooks,
writer and director of the original "The Producers", has repeatedly
expressed his opinion that the best way to defuse future occasion for
this type of fascism is to expose it to repeated, constant, and
unforgettable ridicule. Beyond this explanation, I apologize if I make
anybody uncomfortable.

Adamantius

[Bialystock: Here's money. Buy bullets. You must kill the actors!
Liebkin: Yes. I must destroy the actors.
Bloom: Max, this is insane, you can't just kill the actors, they're
human beings!
Bialystock: Oh, yeah? Have you ever eaten with one?]
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com