TayDee Loop Fusion

FAQs

Q. What in the world is TayDee Loop?
A. Potato Soup.

Q. Huh?
A. A corruption of Potato Soup when you are calling the little kids for supper goes like this: potato soup, tater soup, tayto soup, taytee loup, taydee loop.

Eventually it becomes a family favorite, simple plain TayDee Loop, based on the simplest Irish supper, potatoes, water, onions; and by the 20th century, celery.

TayDee Loop for the 21st Century gets punched up with an Asian influence. Warm spicy comfort food.

3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
1 cup chopped celery with leaves (the dense white root gives good flavor, too-mince it finely)
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large rutabaga, peeled and chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 teaspoons (or lots more, to your taste) minced red jalapenos, fresh or frozen
1 quart chicken broth
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup frozen peas.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion, ginger and celery in it until the onion is wilted.
Add the potatoes, rutabaga, lime leaves, jalapeno and broth. Cook over medium heat, covered, until the vegetables are just cooked.
Add the lemon juice & peas. By the time you stir the peas in, the soup is ready to be served to 3 or 4. Saltines or fresh crusty bread, too.

Note on “serving”: At the time of the etymological evolution of TayDee Loop, the family term for serving was “lifting.” Supper was lifted, soup was lifted, individual foods were lifted. Did this come from lifting food from the pot that sat low on a fire? Hmmm. Let’s look that up.

From the Dictionary of American Regional English, 1966 vol III p. 349: lift v (2) to take up (a dish or meal) and bring it to the table; to serve (a meal); hence ppl adj lifted of a meal, prepared; served. esp Midl [Scots dial]
1912 DN 3.581 wIN, Lift...To put on the (dining room) table; to serve. “It is twelve o’clock; we had better left the dinner.” 1916 DN 4.277 NE, Lifted...Ready, prepared. “Dinner is lifted.” 1927 AmSp 2.359 cwWV, Lifted...prepared. “Supper is lifted.” 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.560 wNC, Lift...To take food from the stove or fireplace to be served on the table. “Janie, lift the beans while I go get some onions.” 1953 Randolph-Wilson Down in Holler 261 Ozarks, Lift...To bring forward, especially to serve food and drink. I have heard a backwoods housewife say: “The dinner’s all cooked, Paw. Are you-uns ready for me to lift it?” 1959 DARE File swPA, You hear the cook of the house say “lift the potatoes” which means take the potatoes out of the cooking well. 1963 in 1982 Barrick Coll. csPA, Lift—remove (something cooking) from the stove to serve at the table. “I’m gonna lift the potatoes now.” .... ”The potatoes is to left yet.” 1966 DARE File PA, Lift...to lift a meal from the stove. 1973 Ibid swPA, Lift...to serve a meal. “I’m just ready to lift the supper.”