more soup!

soup is one of the most gratifying things to make during the colder winter months, and the william-sonoma soup book is one of my favorite resources for all things soup related. the other day i made their eastern-europe inspired sweet and sour flank soup.

first i sauteed an onion and 3 cloves garlic in vegetable oil.

then i browned my flank steak in the pot, about three minutes on each side.

next i added, in no particular order: a box of beef stock, 4 cups water, 1 head of cabbage (chopped), 1/4 cup golden raisins, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, 1 bayleaf, and the juice of 1 lemon.

after bringing the soup to a boil, i let it simmer for 1 hour, then removed and cut the flank steak. i put the pieces back in the soup, and then served. the meat was pretty tender, and i really enjoyed the sweet and sour combination. also, flank steak is a pretty economical meat option. all in all, a successful dinner venture.