This Food and Wine cold soup is fresh, complex and the perfect answer to your, “I have too many cucumbers in my garden” dilemma. And if you don’t have too many cucumbers but just want something refreshing, creamy and tangy, then make this soup. One might think a cucumber soup might be a little banal, but this one is memorable and totally stole the show at my parents’ anniversary dinner which included grilled leg of lamb. That’s saying something.
This Green Lentil soup is cozy, earthy and brimming with smokiness from the Pancetta and cumin. If you cook it just right, then a spoonful is a bit toothsome, and the lentils are not quite falling apart. Oh, and there’s just a hint of heat from the fire roasted tomatoes and plenty of good for you ingredients like spinach and carrots. A bowl of this is like a warm but slightly spicy hug. All good things in other words.
Sit down, which I assume you are if you are reading this post. Take a deep breath, and tell me what’s been troubling you. Too long a list perhaps? Has your boss, spouse, kids, roommate, efriend got you down? Have your shoes and whole wardrobe, for that matter, reached their expiration date? Completely out of ideas for your next blog post?
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More times than not, time is not on our side. We are pulled in so many different directions that our head spins, and we are hanging on to our sanity by our fingertips. As a culturally Jewish woman, and lover of cooking, you would think I would have made chicken soup, a.k.a Jewish Penicillin, my whole life. But no, I’ve avoided making my own chicken soup or stock until the last couple of years since it always felt like such a large undertaking, messy and time consuming. And most days, I simply don’t have the time or energy for that kind of nonsense.
Brrrr, are you all freezing out there? So sorry…I really have no clue what that is like since I am a bit chilly in sunny So. Cal. and I think the low is about 63 degrees Fahrenheit today. I know. I am a big baby. I’m spoiled…a California Girl through and through…although I don’t surf…but there’s still time yet.
If you need a little something cozy, comforting and warm to thaw you out, then dig into one of these hearty bowls of soup.
Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup with a “How to” on creating your own soup recipes.
Creamy, dreamy Spinach Soup gives you the strength to take on the week of cooking and shopping ahead.
Or how about my famous Sweet Potato Soup which has been given the honorary Kristy seal of approval.
Finally, don’t to be afraid to make my scary vampire red Heirloom Tomato Soup. It’s herby and begs to be dipped in by a crispy and gooey grilled cheese sandwich.
If you make one of these soups, you are sure to be warmer and toastier very soon. Happy almost Thanksgiving to all of those celebrating.
Is it freezing where you are…literally? So much of the country right now is under so many feet of snow…and a nice, hot bowl of soup may be just what is called for, and perhaps a Hot Buttered Rum to boot or a one way ticket to somewhere warm. If I were near you, I would gladly bring you over a pot of one of my soups…I love to make soup. It’s therapeutic if you ask me.
So here they are in all of their glory, my semi-famous S&C soup line-up…
Sausage and Kale Soup with potatoes and carrots…so full of heartiness that it will surely knock you out of your winter blues.
Making soup is magical. I love to step into my kitchen with a big, empty stock pot on the stove and start building my soup. It’s therapeutic for me; as onions sizzle, and my sleek chef’s knife makes crisp and loud chops against the cutting board through celery, carrots and potatoes, my entire body releases stress. Forget about a runner’s high. It has absolutely nothing on a soup maker’s high.
Valentine’s Day is over, and I am very type-A when it comes to my posts, and it literally makes my skin crawl to have red, pink and hearts spread out on my home page so here is a repeat post just to hold us over for a day. I have a lemon souffle I will be posting by tomorrow (or sooner) so don’t fret. Feel free to skip this post or read it. It’s totally up to you; I’ll never know the wiser.
Here it is crazy cold (all of 47 degrees F. in So Cal and Yes, I am a big baby), and I just made this soup last night so I thought it was quite apropos.
Hi All! I have been enjoying the holidays far too much to stop and take photos. Last night I cooked a prime rib, Yorkshire pudding (popovers—will post these soon!), roasted Brussels sprouts, pan roasted potatoes, and the list goes on including these amazing Chocolate Mint Parfaits. They were the perfect light and airy, minty finish to a heavy meal.
This Heirloom Tomato soup is honestly the best soup I have ever eaten. I kicked your average tomato soup up a notch by adding Heirlooms to the Hothouse Tomato bunch and ended up with an addicting soup that has already got me planning my next batch of it.
Soup that you dream about all the next day, knowing it’s in your fridge and just waiting to be dunked into by a rustic grilled cheese sandwich.
Heirloom Tomato Soup for Blood Sucking Vampires!
Serves 5-6 bowls
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1-2 Large Heirloom Tomatoes, chopped (not peeled)
4 medium-large vine ripened tomatoes, chopped (not peeled)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves,
3-4 cups “no chicken” vegetarian broth or chicken broth
2 t. sea salt or to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup half and half or whole milk
Toasted grilled cheese points for serving along side
Possible toppings: nonfat Greek yogurt, dolloped or put in a pastry bag, fitted with a small, round tip and swirled on; chopped fresh basil, grated cheddar if you are not serving with grilled cheese, grated gruyere on a crouton on top of soup.
*Add a few drops of red food coloring if you want your soup “red” for “vampire blood”.
For the Soup: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes until very tender. You want the onions to be carmelized. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to break down and are very soft.
Add the half and half to the soup, stir and process the soup through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that’s left. Or if you don’t have a food mill, roll up your sleeves for the following steps: Send it through a blender in small batches. LEAVE THE LITTLE CIRCLE IN THE TOP of your lid open or off and PLACE A CLEAN TOWEL OVER THE HOLE or you will get burned. I have an immersion blender and I just pureed the soup with that. Then push your soup through a large sieve or strainer. This took me a while, like 15 solid minutes of forcing the soup through the strainer but it was SO worth it. Really.
Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with any of the suggested toppings and a grilled cheese sandwich…cut in tooth shapes if you want it for a Halloween themed dish. Enjoy…I know you will!
Sweet And Crumby 