ESL Podcast 639 - Ordering Soups and Salads

soup - a hot food eaten with a large spoon that has a lot of liquid, usually with small pieces of meat, vegetables, and rice or other grains

Halbert likes to eat tomato soup and a sandwich for lunch.

salad - a type of food with many vegetables or fruits, usually uncooked, that have been cut or torn into small pieces and mixed together, sometimes with pieces of meat or pasta, often served cold

Holly made a delicious fruit salad with grapes, pears, strawberries, kiwi, and banana.

chicken noodle - a type of soup that has small pieces of chicken and long spaghetti-like noodles, often eaten when one doesn't feel well

Whenever we got sick as kids, Mom always gave us a bowl of hot chicken noodle soup.

minestrone - a type of soup that has many vegetables and pasta, often in a salty tomato- or spinach-based liquid

I prefer minestrone with white beans.

cream of mushroom - a thick type of soup made from heavy cream or milk that has been blended with cooked mushrooms and spices

Cream of mushroom soup is delicious, but it has a lot of fat and cholesterol.

hearty - large and filling; making one feel full after eating something

When Clayton works on the farm, he likes to have a hearty lunch such as fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and apple pie.

clam chowder - a thick type of soup made with clams (an animal that lives in a shell in the ocean), potatoes, heavy cream, and sometimes bacon

This restaurant makes the best clam chowder, because the chef uses fresh clams that are harvested each morning.

stew - a thick type of soup made by cooking meat, vegetables, and potatoes in a salty liquid for several hours

Helena makes a great stew with beef, carrots, potatoes, celery, and turnips.

chef salad - a type of salad that has lettuce, chopped hard-boiled egg, and small pieces of ham, chicken, and cheese, as well as some vegetables

This chef salad would be better if it had some cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices.

Caesar salad - a type of salad that has Romaine lettuce in a special Caesar dressing with grated (small pieces of) Parmesan cheese and croutons (small pieces of crunchy, fried bread), sometimes with chicken or shrimp on top

Normally, a Caesar salad is an appetizer, but if you order a large one with grilled chicken on top, it can be the main course.

Cobb salad - a type of salad that has many kinds of lettuce, chopped hard- boiled egg, small pieces of ham and chicken, cheese, avocado, tomato, and blue-cheese dressing

The Cobb salad was so big that we didn't want to order anything else for dinner.

garden salad - a small, simple salad made from lettuce and other vegetables, without any meat or cheese

Hidalgo made a garden salad from vegetables grown in his own garden.

French - a type of salad dressing that is reddish-orange, made from oil, vinegar, ketchup, paprika, and other herbs and spices that have been blended together until smooth

Lela likes to dip cucumber slices in French dressing before she eats them.

Italian - a type of salad dressing that is almost clear, made from oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, finely minced (cut) vegetables, and herbs

Some cooks like to use Italian dressing as a marinade for chicken breasts.

ranch - a type of salad dressing that is white and thick, made from buttermilk, sour cream, and mayonnaise mixed with green onion, garlic, and other herbs

Ranch salad dressing is good on salads, but even better as a dip for raw carrots and broccoli.

Thousand Island - a type of salad dressing that is light-orange or almost pink, made from mayonnaise, ketchup, minced pickles, and other vegetables and herbs

If you have ketchup and mayonnaise, you can make your own Thousand Island dressing at home, without buying a bottle of it at the store.

vinaigrette - a simple mixture of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper that is put on salad as a dressing

Vinaigrettes taste better if you make them with olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

blue cheese - a type of cheese that is white and has small blue lines, with a very strong taste and smell

Willie doesn't like blue cheese, because he thinks it smells like dirty socks.