Very Veggie Soup

Sometimes, after a weekend of heavy food and many desserts, I feel as though I am in desperate need of vegetables.
Thanksgiving was certainly one of those weekends.

I kept throwing vegetable after vegetable into the soup pot yesterday.

Carrots, celery, onion, garlic, zucchini, and asparagus.
Tomatoes and chicken stock.

And finally frozen spinach and corn.
2 cups of water and a can of rinsed white beans, and dinner was done.

Served my favorite way to eat soup; with cheese and croutons. 

I am now officially obsessed with croutons. 

Jerry is also officially obsessed with hot cocoa. 

I laughed to myself yesterday when I saw the container of Swiss Miss on the counter. 

I put it next to the pineapple so you could get an idea of how large this can of powdered hot chocolate is.
It holds 67 servings.
At the top it says "Great for Offices, Restaurants, Schools, Daycares".

And our little family of two.

Anyone want to come over for hot cocoa?

Busy Week Night

I had a late meeting at work last night, which is uncommon for me.

So I ate dinner at 5:30, which is also uncommon for me.

I made some whole wheat couscous and poured some leftover soup on top.

Couscous is my go-to quick carbohydrate on week nights. It only takes about 10 minutes to make, and it was great with the thick soup.
And a big scoop of sour cream.

Since I had a meeting, Jerry was on his own for dinner.
I was very proud when I got this picture message at my meeting.

It was meatless!
He made himself grilled cheese and tomato soup with a salad on the side.

When I got home he informed me that it wasn't just plain Campbell's soup and grilled cheese.
He added chopped onion and garlic powder to his soup.
And sliced onion to his sandwich.
And scallions to his salad.

Apparently the key to getting Jerry to embrace Meatless Monday is to substitute the meat for onions.

Works for me!

Let It Snow

I woke up this morning and for a split second thought it was Saturday.
Bummer.

But then I saw this!

Snow!
Not enough to have to shovel, and just enough to make everything look pretty.

I've been dealing with some stomach issues the past few days, and I was completely unmotivated when it came to making dinner.
I forced myself to get chopping and made a quick pot of soup.

Mama Pea's Spicy African Peanut Stew.

A comforting blend of sweet potatoes, lentils, chick peas, tomatoes, and coconut milk. Topped with peanuts and sour cream.
Normally this soup goes in the crock pot, but it worked just as well simmering on the stove for an hour.

I only had a taste of the Beaujolais yesterday.

Just what I was hoping for; light and fruity. I tasted hints of strawberry, and Jerry said he appreciated the lack of 'bite' at the finish.
Had I been in the mood for drinking, it would have been perfect for the spicy stew.

And the spicy green beans!

My friend Kristin gave me this jar of homemade pickled Dilly Beans this summer and I had forgotten about them.
I opened them up last night to try.
They tasted like a delicious spicy pickle.
I have a feeling this jar won't last very long.

Our weekend plans include pizza, a brewery tour with our friends Kevin and Sara, and a coffee house to hear some friend's play some music.

I'm off to eat my oatmeal and watch the snow fall.
Happy Friday!

Easy Meatless Soup

Soup is an easy way to make a quick, meatless meal.

Last night Mom and I made Chipotle Pumpkin Black Bean Soup.

With its beans and veggies, and served with yogurt, a sweet relish, and some crusty multi grain bread, this soup was a complete meal. 

Since this was a Rachael Ray recipe, it was super fast to put together.

Saute garlic and onions.
Add chipotles and beer. (We used a Post Road Pumpkin)
Add pumpkin and vegetable stock.
Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.
Add black beans, puree slightly.
Simmer 10 minutes.
Done!

We garnished the top with a relish of chopped apple, red onion, dried cranberries, and lemon juice.
Along with a big dollop of Greek yogurt.
The crusty chewy multi grain bread was the perfect dipper.

I have made this soup before, and Jerry was never a fan.
But yesterday both he and my brother gobbled it up.
I think it was because we pureed the black beans a little. Beans are usually Jerry's least favorite part of any meal. Using the immersion blender meant less whole beans and a nice thick soup.

Low in calories, high in fiber, and big on taste!
This is one of my go-to winter soups. 

Soup's On

The Alarm (aka Sadie) got up very early today.
At 4am she hopped onto our bed and wedged herself between me and Jer.
And she didn't want to sleep, she wanted to be pet.
If you stop petting her, Sadie will lick you until you feel like you need a shower.
She has figured out that we usually choose to pet her instead of be licked.

She's smarter than I giver her credit for.

Sadie always gets up at 6:15 with me when I get up to blog.
She eats breakfast immediately, then goes outside.
After 10 minutes outside, she comes in and immediately runs to our bedroom.
She takes my spot next to Jerry until I am done blogging and wake them up.

She is a lot smarter than I giver her credit for.

Also smart, is making a big pot of soup on a cold day.
During the cold months, I make soup about once a week.
They are usually healthy, full of vegetables, and make great leftovers for lunches during the week.

I guess you could call last night's soup my take on minestrone.
I don't know if minestrone has a specific recipe, but this soup has tons of veggies, pancetta, and beans.

Hungry Heart Minestrone Soup 

• medium onion, chopped
• small zucchini, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2-4 oz pancetta, chopped (or bacon)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 cups petite diced tomatoes
• 3-4 cups baby spinach
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 15oz can of beans, drained and rinsed (I used cannellini)
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning or fresh rosemary, basil, parsley
• grated parmesan, for serving

Heat your soup pot to Med/Low and add pancetta.
Once your pancetta is brown and crispy, add the onions, celery, and carrots and garlic.
Add salt and pepper, and the Italian seasoning.
Let cook 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies get soft.
Add zucchini, and a few minutes later, the tomatoes.
Pour in the stock and beans.
Cover and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes.
Roughly chop the spinach, and stir into hot soup. 

You can add pasta to this soup if you like. I would increase the liquid by 1-2 cups, and add one cup of short pasta, like ditalini, orzo, or elbows.

You can also use lots of different veggies. I have seen recipes that add potatoes, green beans, chard, peppers, and cabbage. Some recipes also add rice as a starch. 

The key to making soup on a weeknight is sauteing the vegetables. Otherwise, you would have to wait hours for the veggies to soften while the soup simmers.

Serve soup with grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, a dash of hot sauce, or some crispy croutons.

I promise there is soup under those croutons

Next time I might add more beans. If you like beans, feel free to add two cans. It will add more fiber and protein to the soup.
Unless you are a vegetarian, definitely don't skip the pancetta. And the cheese is a must. They bring a nice salty depth to the broth, and make it seem more like a meal than a bowl of vegetables.
Can't wait for leftovers at lunch!

What is your favorite soup to make when the weather gets cold?

Smells Like Fall

This week it really started to feel like fall.
The trees in my neighborhood and the hill behind my house have finally turned bright red and orange.
The street in front of the train station is covered in tiny yellow leaves that swirl in the air when cars drive by.
It gets dark around 6:30.
It even smells like fall, crisp and cool.
I have also taken to eating between 2-4 apples per day.
Nothing smells more like fall than apples!

Including apple crisp.

Mom's Apple Crisp

• 5-6 apples
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional*)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (optional)

Slice apples and put into 9x13 baking dish.
Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, salt and oats (if using).
Add butter and cut in with a fork, knife, or pastry cutter.
Basically, smash the butter into the dry ingredients until you have pea sized pieces of butter.
Pour topping over apples and bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
*I don't use the nutmeg, because my mom never did either. Sometimes I substitute cinnamon for it instead.

I also added a couple of Bosc pears, because I had them on hand.

As if that didn't make the house smell like fall enough, I also made Potato Leek Soup.
One of Jerry's favorites.

Simple Potato Leek Soup

• 2 large leeks (about 1 lb), chopped and rinsed
• 3 small russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 Tbls olive oil
• 1 Tbls butter
• 3/4 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock, or water
• 2 Tbls grated parmesan cheese

Add oil and butter to a soup pot, and turn to Med-Med/Low.
Chop your leeks and toss them is a large bowl of cold water. Leeks are notoriously dirty, so swish them around for a few minutes. The dirt should fall to the bottom of the bowl and the leeks should float.
Add leeks, salt and pepper to soup pot and saute until soft. This should take about 20 minutes.

Add chopped potatoes to the leeks.

Add your stock or water, cover, and let simmer until the potatoes are tender.
Jerry and I snacked on the apple crisp while we waited.

Once the potatoes were soft I used an immersion blender to make the soup smooth. You could also carefully transfer the hot soup to a food processor or blender.
Once smooth, stir in the cheese.

Garnished with chives

 

Many Potato Leek soup recipes call for cream. I do not find that it is necessary.
The tablespoon of butter and touch of cheese make this feel rich, while saving you lots of calories.

I did add 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt to my bowl, to make it creamy and tangy. It also adds about 6 grams of protein per bowl.

I would recommend adding 1/2-1 cup of Greek yogurt after you puree the soup and it is off the heat.

I've made this soup many times, so I have a few tips:

1. I use unsalted stock. If your stock has a lot of sodium, add 1/4 tsp salt and then see if it needs more at the end.
2. If you are not using cream, only use enough stock/water to cover the potatoes. If there is a lot of liquid, your soup won't be as creamy.
3. I didn't weigh my leeks or potatoes, but I would estimate that I had 4 cups of chopped leeks, and just shy of 3 cups of chopped potatoes.
4. Yummy additions to the soup include chopped bacon, cream or buttermilk, and Jerry's favorite; diced kielbasa. 

Happy Fall Cooking!