Winter Minestrone Soup

I can't believe I didn't share this recipe with you earlier!

Just in time for spring...here is a recipe for Winter Minestrone Soup.

**slaps self on forehead**

Actually this soup would be fantastic on one of those rainy April evenings. I made this for New Year's Eve and have made it many many times since. It comes together very quickly, it is hearty, it is healthy, it is yummy!! She adds the cheese rind for saltiness. I did that the first time and it was nice...but I don't always have a cheese rind on hand so I do add salt instead. Also, I left out the pancetta. Serve this with some fresh bread from the oven. Perfect!


Winter Minestrone Soup
Source: Giada De Laurentiis
Yield: 4-6 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound Swiss chard, stems trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped
1 russet potato, peeled, cubed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium beef broth
1 ounce piece Parmesan cheese rind
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, pancetta, and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and potato; saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and rosemary sprig. Simmer until the chard is wilted and the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend 3/4 cup of the beans with 1/4 cup of the broth in a processor until almost smooth. Add the pureed bean mixture, remaining broth, and Parmesan cheese rind to the vegetable mixture. Simmer until the potato pieces are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in the whole beans and parsley. Simmer until the beans are heated through and the soup is thick, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Discard Parmesan rind and rosemary sprig (the leaves will have fallen off of the stem.)

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Broccoli Soup

This is a repost. But it is worth it because this soup is the bomb. The broccoli bomb.

I've been making things to freeze for after the baby arrives. I made a batch of this and I had forgot how good it is. I've eaten half of the pot so I need to be sure to freeze some! I like that it doesn't have cheese in it so you can control some of the fat that way. As you can see, I'm not too concerned at this point. But after Babe is here...no cheese.


Here is the post with recipe from last November.

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

I don't normally eat chicken but I had such a craving for a good, hearty, chicken noodle soup. At first I thought I would go all out and make my own chicken stock. But then when the time came to buy the ingredients and make the soup I decided to go for organic chicken broth instead. I did compromise and made the egg noodles from scratch. I loved that part.

Since we don't really eat chicken in our house we didn't have any leftover chicken kicking around. I bought one of those small rotisserie chickens near the deli counter at the grocery store. The cold ones are nearly a dollar off so it worked out well. I got a lot of meat off it. The cats got to have some too.

The noodles were easy to make. My suggestion would be to roll them real thin and let them dry for quite a while. Mine ended up being pretty thick and stuck together. Still...they were delicious!!

**Alkaline Trio; Dine, Dine My Darling** "Let's dine, dine, dine my darling, Let's have our last supper, a toast to lovers And we'll dance real sweet and slow."

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
Source: ME!
Yield: 4 servings

1 large onion, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
Olive Oil
1 box chicken brother (or make your own)
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
Rosemary and Thyme
Egg Noodles (recipe below)

Heat the olive oil and then add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook a couple minutes until really fragrant. Becareful not to brown the onions. Add the stock and herbs and bring to a simmer. Now add the chicken and noodles and let cook on low for 30 or so minutes to get all those flavors developed.

Egg Noodles
Source: One Tree Past the Fence
Yield: A bunch. :)

3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
3 tsp. cold water (I ended up using about 6 Tbs.)
1 tsp. salt
2 cups of flour

Beat the egg yolks and the egg together with the cold water and salt. Gradually spoon in the flour. Dough will be pretty stiff. Knead until fairly smooth and then roll out thin. Cut into strips and allow to try a few hours.

African Peanut Stew

Did you make the new year's resolution to eat more healthy? How about get fit? Or maybe just eat more vegetables. This dish will satisfy all of those in one. It is healthy, nearly fat free, full of veggies...hence full of vitamins.

Oh, and it is a cinch to make.

The first time I had this a coworker had made it in her crockpot. You could definitely do that. I chose to make mine in my cast iron pot which I use all.the.time. I served mine over rice but if you are cutting carbs for that resolution then you could just enjoy the stew itself.

And if you want to make your coworkers stomachs growl, bring the leftovers for lunch and heat it up in the community microwave. The smell of curry and ginger is really enticing!


African Peanut Stew
Source: Coworker
Yield: 6-8 servings

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped red onion (about 2 medium)
1 1/4 cups finely chopped green bell pepper (about 1 large)
1/2 cup chopped carrot (1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped celery (about 2 medium stalks)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bay leaf
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 12 ounces)
1 1/2 cups shelled edamame
1/4 cup creamy or crunchy natural peanut butter or almond butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach, torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
Coarsely ground black pepper

1. Heat oil in a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and next 3 ingredients (onion through celery); sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add garlic, ginger and curry powder; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute (do not brown garlic). Add tomatoes and bay leaf; cook, uncovered, until tomatoes are slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

3. Add broth and sweet potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 8 minutes. Add edamame and peanut butter; stir to combine. Add cilantro and spinach; cook until thoroughly heated and spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.

Vegan Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

Here is another vegan recipe from the Candle Cafe Cookbook. (Can you tell that I like the book??)

Something that I have always been confused about is what wine to use in cooking. The majority of the time a recipe will call for "dry white wine". Well WTF is that?! I just drink what's cheap! I stumbled upon this thread on Chow and found it extremely helpful. The one that hooked me is, "Most often dry vermouth, Noilly Pratt to be exact. That is what Juila used and my mom." Julia and moms always know what to do. I had a hard time finding Noilly Pratt though. I'm still on the lookout for it.

What I did buy are those silly little bottles of wine that come in a four pack. I felt like a dork at the cashier but it is economical and practical! I used nearly one bottle for this soup and put the rest of the bottle (a screw cap which is good) in the fridge. About a week later a recipe I was making called for dry white wine. PERFECT! I love when things work out. (it's the little things in life that make me happy)


I thought this soup was awesome. A great flavor from the leeks and I think you can never go wrong with wild rice and mushrooms!



Mushroom Wild Rice Soup
Source: The Candle Cafe Cookbook
Yield: 6 servings

1/2 cup plus 4t dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, diced
1/4 leek, rinsed and chopped
12 large mushrooms, sliced
1/2t thyme
1/2t oregano
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup cooked wild rice
4t white flour
S&P

In large saucepan heat 1/2 cup wine to simmer. Add garlic, onion, leek and simmer 10 minutes until tender.

Add mushrooms, thyme, oregano and simmer 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add broth and bring to low boil. Simmer 20 minutes then stir in cooked rice.

Dissolve flour in remaining wine and add to soup. Bring back to boil.

Season with S&P and serve.

Broccoli Soup

Sunday is soup night at 179. Well, at least in the fall and winter. Who wants hot soup in the summer?!

I had never made broccoli soup before and will certainly be making it again. I love this recipe. You can control the amount of fat that goes in to it and I love the chunkiness of the veggies. I ended up spooning out about a cup of the soup and blending it with the immersion blender. I also added a bit of cheese when I served it. Definitely a hit. And definitely great for leftovers!!


Creamy Broccoli Soup
Source: Cooking on the Side
Yield: 4 servings

4 cups broccoli florets
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium, may substitute vegetable broth
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

In a large pot bring water and onion salt to boil and add broccoli, celery and carrots. Bring to a boil, drain and set aside.

Sauté onions in butter until tender. Stir in flour to form a smooth paste. Slowly add broth and milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute: add vegetables and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until tender.

Can be prepared 24 hours in advance – refrigerate any leftovers.

Creamy Tomato Alphabet Soup

SUCCESS! I've made quite a few tomato soups looking for one that was just right (at least to my palate). Some have been too runny. Some too bland. Some with too much tomato. This time I was going to do it right. I wasn't going to follow a recipe.

I'm lucky enough to have some basil and thyme growing in a pot in my upstairs where it is warm. These two are a must in tomato soup. Another must, cream. I like my tomato soup a bit creamy and thick. I also like some sort of noodle in my soup and chose alphabets for their size. Not too much noodle to take away from the tomato.

I served this to my lady friends with a grilled cheese on Sesame Semolina Bread.

Creamy Tomato Alphabet Soup
Source: ME!
Yield: 6 servings

1 onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2 T butter
2 T EVOO
3 T flour
2 can vegetable broth
1 big can crushed tomatoes
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 heaping spoon tomato paste
1 t sugar
Basil
Thyme
1/2 cup cream
1 cup alphabet noodles

Melt butter and EVOO over medium high heat. Add onions and saute 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes. Sprinkle with flour cooking 2 more minutes. Stir in broth, all tomatoes, paste, sugar, herbs, and season with S&P. Allow to simmer. About 20 minutes before serving add cream and noodle.

*I made mine in the crock pot

Pints of Guinness Make You Stronger

Well at least that is what Tom Gabel says.

I have never made french onion soup in my life. My mother made it a few times when I was in high school but back then I didn't have a great palate so I wasn't a fan. I saw this recipe which included Guinness and just had to try it. The only catch was that I didn't want to use beef broth but isn't that what make french onion soup so good? That rich broth? Not when you add Guinness it isn't.

My husbands exact words were, "If they served this at The Cup then I'd get it every time." (The Cup is the Liberal Cup which is our regular spot in Hallowell, Maine) The broth was fantastic, I used homemade country bread that I had made a day earlier, and I used aged Irish cheddar cheese. I actually made the soup a day before we had it and it was better after sitting for a day. The flavors all intermingled...as Catie would say, "Deliciousoso."

Guinness and Onion Soup
Adapted from Food Network's Michael Chiarello (saw this on Lime in the Coconut blog)
Serves 6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves minced garlic
8 cups thinly sliced onions
salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups dark beer (recommended: Guinness)
6 cups beef stock (I used veggie broth)
6 slices country bread cut 1/2-inch thick, toasted
1/2 pound Irish Cheddar, sliced thin

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and cook briefly to release aroma. Add onions, season with salt and cook for about 5 minutes stirring often. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown.
Add the thyme, vinegar, and beer. Reduce beer by half and add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes.
Preheat the broiler. Transfer soup to an ovenproof serving dish or individual ovenproof soup bowls. Top with toasted bread slices and sliced Cheddar. Broil until cheese melts and starts to brown slightly. Serve piping hot.

Happy Birthday Toria!!

Sunday was my best friend's birthday!! While we work across from each other Monday through Friday we don't get to spend enough girlie time together. We had such a great day Saturday at her house eating this soup, chocolate mousse, drinking tea, and picking out her birthday outfit for drinks.

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website. She had a whole slideshow of winter soups and I think I printed off every other one! I thought this was a fantastic soup. My husband looked at it and said, "I don't eat cooked carrots." I gave him and a look and he tried it and admitted that the soup was very good! I didn't feel like transferring the soup from my dutch oven to the blender so I just used the immersion blender which worked fine. The recipe says it feeds 4 but I halved it and it fed both of us and her boyfriend with some left over! I served this with homemade croutons.

Curried Carrot Soup

Source: Martha Stewart

Serves 4

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Heat butter in a Dutch oven or large (4- to 5-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, curry powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, carrots, and 3 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover, and simmer until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

In a blender, puree soup in batches until smooth; transfer to a clean saucepan. Add more water to thin to desired consistency. Reheat, if necessary. Stir in lemon juice. Serve garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Sick Soup

I have been sick for...count them...17 days! Finally I went to the doctor today and am hoping I'm on the road to recovery. Like most people when I am sick I want soup and this is one of my favorites. This soup is hearty and I make it extra garlicky. The recipe came from a co-worker of mine who is quite the worldly traveler and a foodie herself!

I actually had no intention of blogging this dish but when I was done I couldn't not take a picture of it and pass it along. To keep with my pescetarianism I substituted the chicken broth for vegetable broth. (I feel that I now need to use the word pescetarian rather than vegetarian to be true. We do eat fish. Pescetarian is harder to say than vegetarian and it sounds religious.) This soup is fabulous the next day when the tortellinis soak up all the garlic and broth.

Garlicky Tortellini, Spinach, and Tomato Soup
Source: Co-worker
Yield: 4 servings

2 T EVOO
8 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 cups of broth (chicken or veggie)
8 oz fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
14 oz canned diced tomatoes (sometimes I used fresh tomatoes too)
1 bag fresh baby spinach (I usually eye ball this)

Add EVOO to large sauce pan or dutch oven. Add garlic and saute over med-high heat for 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Add tortellini. If frozen cook for half the time on the package, if fresh cook for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and their liquid. Reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender. Stir in fresh spinach and cook until wilted. I like to top my with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and serve with crusty bread.

Kinda Gamy

My big brother is awesome. He is a registered Maine Guide and breeds bird dogs (English Setters). Every year he, his wife, and his in-laws throw this feast of wild game. There are tables filled with soups, stews, dips, etc. of meats that he and his friends have shot during hunting season. Then they also fry and grill up meats to serve fresh at another counter. For those of you who don't know me, I don't eat meat nor does my husband. We like to go and support big brother and dine on mac and cheese and salad...and dessert of course!

This year my brother asked me if I would make a wild game gumbo for him. I kind of laughed at first. Even when I did eat meat I didn't eat red meat and I rarely cooked with meat. Still, I took on his challenge. He gave me the recipe out of "Ducks Unlimited" and provided me with smoked sausage, shrimp, homemade chicken stock, and venison (thank goodness it was all cut into chunks already).

I took this picture because I want people to know I really had raw deer meat! (gave me the heebie geebies but the cats LOVED the smell of it cooking)

I cooked this in a crock pot thinking it would better meld the flavors. After simmering away all day I added 1.5 cups of rice since I was transporting this to a party. I tried a spoonful of the rice and a shrimp before leaving and thought it was really tasty. If I were serving to a bunch of my adult friends I would have spiced it up a bunch but I knew that there were kids at this gathering so I kept it mild. We think we might try to make something similar with a bunch of seafood!

Duck Gumbo
Ducks Unlimited Magazine
Serves: 8-10

1/2 cup peanut oil (I used veggie)
4 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
1 1/2 cups bell pepper, any color, seeded and diced
1 pound Andouille sausage (or your favorite smoked sausage), diced
3 cups boneless, skinless duck breast fillets, each cut into 3 or 4 pieces (I used venison)
3 quarts chicken broth
1 tablespoon filé powder (Don't know what it is so it didn't go in)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
6–8 cups cooked warm white rice

1. In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, combine peanut oil and flour to make the roux. Cook while stirring constantly until roux is mahogany in color. Remove from heat and stir in onions and peppers (this will help cool the roux).

2. In a large, heavy stockpot over medium heat, cook sausage until browned. Add duck and cook until browned. Add chicken broth, filé powder, paprika, salt, and garlic. Stir in roux mixture thoroughly and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until duck is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Once duck is tender, stir in shrimp, thyme, and parsley. Cook until shrimp is pink, about 4 to 6 minutes more. Mound about 3/4 cup rice in bowls and ladle gumbo over.

Very Vegan Part II

What goes better with salad than soup? We chose a tomato bisque recipe to try (my pick was carrot ginger but I lost that fight). The oddest part of the recipe is that it calls for a roasted beet. This completely threw me off but I wanted to include it since I'm a novice at vegan cooking. You roast the damn thing for an hour and a half. It only took about 20 minutes to make the soup! Be sure to add in time to allow the soup to cool. I had to stick mine outside which worked out well since it was 2 above that night.

I have one major gripe with this recipe and it is the beet. I was going along with the soup and it looked great. Tasted great. I just needed to allow it to cool so I could put it in the blender. With it you add the roasted beet and a cup of cubed tofu (I guess to give the bisque part). I plopped that beet in there and should have known better. I ended up with fuchsia soup! Maybe some of your husbands are like mine and have a hard time eating odd colored dishes. I knew when I saw it that he was going to be scared to try it. I broke the news before he came down for dinner, telling him that the soup is great...but is pink. (My god what movie is it where she makes the soup blue???) He admitted his fear in trying a Mylanta colored soup but did it and enjoyed it! (the second cup too!) So if you try this, don't put a beet in it.

Tomato Basil Bisque

The Candle Cafe Cookbook

Serves 6-8

1 small beet (read above and exclude this)

2 T EVOO

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic gloves sliced thin

1/2 cup chopped celery

6 cups vegetable broth (I used 4)

12 small tomatoes chopped or 1 15 oz can whole tomatoes

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1 t dried thyme

1/2 t dried oregano

1 cup cubed tofu

S&P

If you want to do the beet, roast at 350 for an hour and a half and end up with fuchsia soup.

In soup pot heat EVOO and add onion, garlic and celery. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, basic, thyme, and oregano. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool (or stick it out in the freezing cold).

Transfer soup, beet (if you want), and tofu to food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour soup back into pot to reheat. Add S&P to taste.

A cozy Sunday

First let me welcome you to my blog. I promise that this will get better with time.

I have been on the go for the past few weekends and was excited to spend some time at home with my husband and kitties. What better comfort food than tomato soup and bread on a cold Maine night?!

The Samoset Resort in Rockport makes this killer creamy tomato soup that I thought I could replicate. I found this recipe on Epicurious and while something was just a bit different from the soup at the Samoset this soup hit the spot. I halved the recipe since I'm feeding two people and added a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on the top. Also, I'm too lazy to go from the pot to the food processor to the pot so I used my immersion blender which worked wonderfully. I didn't want the soup to be too smooth as I like some chunks of tomato in there. The recipe says that you can taste a hint of clove but I didn't get that even though I added more than the recipe called for.

Creamy Tomato Soup
Parade 2000
Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
3 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups Fresh Vegetable Broth
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. Melt the butter with the oil over low heat in a pot.
2. Add the onion; wilt over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic during the last 2 minutes, stirring. Sprinkle with flour and cook 3 minutes longer, stirring.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover; cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Season with cloves, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
4. Purée the soup in a food processor. Pour through a strainer into a pot. Stir in the half-and-half.
5. Warm the soup before serving.

The bread recipe is one that is very special to me. I remember my mother making this very light bread often. You mix the ingredients in the bowl you allow it to rise in. No kneading. Very easy!

One Loaf White Yeast Bread

1 ¼ Warm Water
1 Pkg. Yeast
2 Tbls Shortening Or Oil
Salt
2 Tbls Sugar
3 Cups Unsifted Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, salt, sugar. Stir in half of the flour. Stir until smooth. Stir in the rest of the flour. Cover and let rise 1 hour. Stir a bit and pour into a very greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise about an hour. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and finish cooking for 25 minutes.