Broccoli Soup via Zap 190 Cookbook

Folks-
I know you're thinking: What, two posts in as many days? Yep. I noticed I had a couple of recipes from my old "Zap 190 Cookbook" that I had transcribed, but not posted. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, Zap 190 was our interoffice mail address at the old Pacific Western Bank Proof Department where I worked in the late '80's and into the late '90's. My friends, family, and co-workers, as well as those of my mom at Live Oak Elementary School, and one of my dad's at the Pajaro District of the State Department of Parks and Recreation submitted recipes for the thing. I'll be posting them on this site over time, and I'll be sure to give credit where it's due.

This recipe comes from my sister. I haven't tried making it myself, but I do remember it being tasty.

Broccoli Soup- Jocelyn Swenson
Ingredients:
3 Fresh Broccoli Crowns, Chopped
1 Large Onion
1 Cup Chopped Mushrooms
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 Cans Cream of Celery Soup
1 Cube Butter
1/2 lb Bacon, cooked and crumbled (Optional)
4-8 Cups Milk

Directions: Mix broccoli, onion, mushrooms, celery and butter in a large saucepan and simmer until vegetables are soft (add water if necessary.) In a large pot, mix together soup and milk. Boil to desired thickness. Mix vegetables in with soup and top with crumbled bacon.

Tyler's Ultimate Barbecue Sauce

Folks-
The best barbecue sauce I have ever had was one I made from a recipe I got on Food Network once. That's a TV network I seldom watch, because it makes me want to cook like mad, and that can be an issue. I ran across Tyler's Ultimate one day, and thought the barbecue sauce recipe looked good enough to have me sit in front of the TV with a notepad and the remote for about an hour, reverse engineering the recipe from what he was doing on the TV (since when does a "dash" equal a small bucket of something?)

Since I first worked this recipe out a couple of years ago, I've found alternate ingredients for some of those in his recipe. I'm including both his basic recipe, as well as the alternates in the ingredient listing below. Enjoy!

Tyler's Ultimate Barbecue Sauce (with alternate ingredients tested by Ed)

2 Strips of smoked bacon or 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke
Large sprig of fresh Thyme or 1 tablespoon dry
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Large Onion or 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2-3 Cloves Garlic- Crushed and skinned or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Cups Ketchup
1/4 Cup Fruit Preserves (Peach, Apricot, or Raspberry have tested well)
1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Cumin
2 Tablespoons Red Wine or Basalmic Vinegar
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Ground pepper to taste

Wrap bacon around fresh thyme and simmer in olive oil. Add other ingredients and simmer 20 minutes.